


The Long Lost Children

by thefandomlife



Series: Harry Potter and the Years of Change [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Book 1: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, F/M, Gryffindor Draco Malfoy, Marauders, Minor Remus Lupin/Nymphadora Tonks, Original Character(s), Remus Lupin twin sister, gryffindor!draco
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-30
Updated: 2017-05-08
Packaged: 2018-08-11 22:43:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 62,254
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7910455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thefandomlife/pseuds/thefandomlife
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Remus Lupin's life went down hill fast after the First War; he lost his best friends, his other best friend was arrested for selling them out and initially killing them, he lost his beautiful wife, and his daughter was stolen from him. Ten years later, he is able to find his long lost daughter, Lynnette Lupin, who is in an abusive muggle American home. With the events of getting Lynnette with him again, to try and develop what he once had, he finds that a series of other surprising events takes place in his and his sister's life.</p><p>*Warning: based pre-Philosopher's Stone and the events that transpire in the books may or may not happen the way they are transpired*</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there! 
> 
> This is my first fanfiction, so I hope you will enjoy!  
> This was an idea of mine that I have had for a while. I have always liked adding OC's into stories, but I have never liked seeing how much fandoms hated having them. I decided to add OC's because I liked the idea of Harry Potter fanfictions being altered from the books and changed by character choices. The OC's in this story have a lot to offer to the plot and to the characters.
> 
> This is my own depiction on things, and my own opinions that I hope no one will get angered towards. I just wanted to write this for fun and I hope you all enjoy! Don't worry though, the OC's aren't the main spotlight, things will be in Harry's point of view most of the time, I just wanted to have a large third person's point of view and go from one to the other.
> 
> I do plan to make this a series. I want to put in the second book, after this one, The Chamber of Secrets and POA together into one, try and morph GOF and OOTP together, and then for the last book in this series try and end it all in the events that happened before Deathly Hallows. That's just a rough outline, it might change.
> 
> Thank you for taking the time to read this and I hope you enjoy! I have school coming up, so I will try and keep to a schedule!

**Prologue:**

Remus had always seen life through the eyes of a perfectionist and an optimist (strongly influenced by his family). He had gotten into Hogwarts, as a werewolf, and graduated with his three best friends who had lovingly supported him and hid his secret by making their own secrets. Yeah… it still manages to confuse him from time to time when he words it that way in his mind.

 

Remus had learned to trust James and Sirius (he never really warmed up to Peter all that much, but he still called him a good friend), but he also had made other friends. Lily Evans, who eventually married James and became Mrs. Potter, was one of his Prefect buddies. They were both passionate about their classes and were convinced that they would be Head Boy and Girl together. But Remus stayed a Prefect his seventh year as James was nominated for the position and ended up marrying Lily a couple of years later. 

 

That year Remus met Marlene, as she was selected as Prefect to replace the position that Lily had once held. Remus had been slightly bummed, but he warmed up to the spunky girl with muggle influence on her appearance. Marlene had dated Sirius all throughout fifth and sixth year, but they broke up over the summer. Remus had been relieved because his own sister was finally able to add up to her own feelings and confess them to Sirius and they ended up dating and also getting married down the line.

 

Robin was Remus’ younger sister. She had a lot of spunk and attitude to her, but she had been raised by Hope Lupin, the kindest of hearts but also the fiercest when confronted, and ended up in Hufflepuff. Everyone had been confused, but not Remus. He had smiled and had been the only Gryffindor to stand up and cheer for her. He had also stood up for her, because his other female friend was Sorted into Hufflepuff. Her name was Jeannette, Jeannette Remington. Robin and Jeannette ended up being great friends, and were the only Hufflepuffs to dare sit at the Gryffindor table for meals.

 

Why know all of this? Because it was all stripped from him. 

 

Lily and James got married and a year later they had a baby boy named Harry; who had his mother’s eyes and his father’s little smirk. Marlene fell in love with a muggle artist and got pregnant after Harry was born. Sirius and Robin got married, just after Sirius had gone up in ranks, with James, and became Head Aurors and Robin got her dream job in the Muggleborn Adoption Services through the Ministry (one of her friends she made in her last year was a muggleborn and had been treated awfully, until she was finally able to get out of her abusive home and moved in with a great family). Remus had also found out he was going to be an uncle. And Remus had grown the nerve and asked Jeannette to marry him, got married, and had a little baby girl who was a few weeks older than Harry.

 

Life was perfect. But it all came crashing down because of the war. 

 

Lily and James and baby Harry went into hiding, but their Secret Keeper blew their cover and James and Lily died to protect their son. Sirius had been their Secret Keeper and was carted off to Azkaban for aiding The Dark Lord Voldemort in murder and for killing Peter, their friend. Marlene’s husband had been targeted and killed, she almost was too, but she had been able to get away, even with her pregnancy. And worst of all, Jeannette had been there the night of Halloween with Lily and was killed in the process. Remus’ baby girl was not found in the house. Dumbledore suspected muggles had found her and carted her off somewhere. 

 

Life was horrible for Remus. 

 

Robin had still never gotten over the betrayal of her husband. Marlene wasn’t as vivacious and spunky anymore. Remus was alone, fearing for where his daughter was. He had his niece though, but he always saw Sirius in her dark brown eyes and in the mischievous little smirk of hers whenever she knew she was in trouble. Remus became the godfather of Marlene’s little boy, Romulus. Remus had snorted when Marlene had told him the name, but he had started to cry afterwards when he held the little baby in his arms. He wanted to hold baby Harry too.

 

He and Robin had tried to reason with Dumbledore into letting them have Harry, but Dumbledore was determined to have Harry stay with Lily’s sister, Petunia, and her muggle family. Robin purposefully moved to Little Whinging just so she could somehow see how Harry was doing as he grew up. Petunia had recognized them though, and had started avoiding them at all costs.

 

As Robin was starting to win the argument with Dumbledore (figuring out the only reason Harry was staying there was because of a spell Lily had cast that protected Harry) and find a resolution, Remus was still always searching muggle and wizarding orphanages for his long lost daughter. Minerva Mcgonagall promised Remus that they could be able to find her by her accidental magic when she came of age, but it was horrid for Remus to sit by and just  _ wait _ . 

 

Minerva had given Remus a copy of the parchment that would list muggleborns/muggle raised children who did accidental magic. It would show a name and give a picture of the child, which was helpful and was a recent addition Minerva added to it in order to find the baby girl. 

 

One morning as Remus woke up, got his morning coffee and did his morning routine of glancing out the window of the house he shared with his sister in Little Whinging, he happened to look up at the Accidental Magic Parchment and snorted coffee.

 

“Robin!” He exclaimed, sprinting out of the kitchen and down the hall to the garden out back.

 

Robin peaked her head up and scrunched her brow at Remus from behind her lilac bush.

 

“What is it, Rem?” She asked, dusting off her gardening gloves.

 

Remus was panting and pale white from the run and the discovery.

  
“It’s her; I found her.”


	2. Chapter 1: A Case of Accidental Magic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meet Lynnette Rose Rossbury....or is that really who she is?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait, I just started my senior year and I've been quite busy, but I have a some free time on the horizon.  
> So, enjoy this long chapter!

**Chapter 1: A Case of Accidental Magic**  

Lynnette Rossbury clenched her fists in her lap uncomfortably. 

Sitting in the school office on the wooden benches seriously sucked. She had never been called to sit in there, especially if she did something wrong. But oh boy, this time she did, but she didn’t know how it could have happened.  

A door creaked down the hall, causing Lynn to jump, her brown eyes wide. She was truly, genuinely scared. She could just imagine her parents wrath at finding out that she had landed herself in the principal's office. They were obsessed with making Lynn be perfect; by getting good grades, not being too extravagant, making friends with her parents friends kids, and by dressing accordingly. Also, not getting in trouble was a big one, in which she just broke.

Suddenly the principal’s door swung open and an angry mom stomped out, holding her son in her arms. Lynn gasped and backed away as the two glared at her. The boy, Aaron Trombley, was covering his nose with his fat hands. Lynn smiled inside, knowing that she had done something to him, but that side of Lynn was easily trumped over by her immense fear of her parents.

The principal walked out the door and grimly motioned for Lynn to come inside. She stood up on shaky knees and started to walk forward, when another door swung open. Lynn turned and paled as her mother and father stormed right up to her. 

“Lynnette Rose Rossbury, what have you done this time?!” Her mother, Karen Rossbury, demanded.

Lynn was shaking and staring in fear at her parents. The principal looked concerned and guided the family into his office.

“Mr. and Mrs. Rossbury, I just want to clear with the two of you that Lynnette has not done anything seriously wrong,” the principal, Mr. Lewis, said.

Lynn sighed in relief, but she was still confused. 

“Well then, why were we called?!” Karen exclaimed, sitting down into a plush seat.

“It’s because we don’t know what to think of the situation. One minute Lynnette is sitting and reading by the fence, a group of boys come up to her, and then the next they are screaming because one of them just miraculously grew a pig nose!” 

The Rossbury’s gaped at Mr. Lewis. Lynnette flushed, not knowing what to think either. To be honest with herself, she didn’t know what happened either. She had been enjoying her copy from the library of  _ The Magician’s Nephew _ by the swings, when suddenly a group of bullies approached her.

“Why are you reading that rubbish? Magic isn’t real!” Aaron Trombley had exclaimed, knocking her book to the ground.

Lynn didn’t know what to do or think, and tried to grab her book, but Aaron stepped on her hand. She screamed, but one of the other boys clasped a sweaty palm over her mouth. Aaron and the rest of the boys just laughed at her as she started to cry. Aaron kept twisting his foot on her palm, making it bleed, when she suddenly felt a swift wind of rage take over her body. 

She glared up at Aaron through her tears and wished something horrible would happen to him. But suddenly he screamed and covered his nose in pain. He relented his hold on her hand, Lynnette sighed in relief. But she looked up just in time to see a pig’s nose covering his own human one. He was squeaking like a pig too, and the boys were screaming and running.

Lynn didn’t know what happened, but she knew that no matter how crazy it was, she somehow had a role in what happened. Just before she could confess this, the door swung open and an old, greying woman waltzed straight in. She was wearing a neck high black dress that swooped down to her ankles. Her brown and grey speckled hair was pulled up into a tight bun on the top of her head and she wore spectacles on the brim of her nose. She had an air of formality to her, her head was held high and her eyes held a knowing glimmer in them. 

Lynnette had seen quite a fair share of older women in her life, but they always slouched down to the ground, their droopy breasts and heavily wrinkled faces weighing them down. But this woman, who carried herself like a young, courageous woman, stood straight up. She was significantly taller than Mr. Rossbury himself, and also Mr. Lewis! 

“I’m sorry, but I must speak with the Rossbury’s.” She said in a Scottish accent that wasn’t too quiet, but wasn’t too loud.

“I’m sorry, what? Who are you?” Mr. Lewis asked, bewildered.

 “I am here to talk about the incident that just transpired.” She said, commandingly.

 “Excuse me, but that would be my job, Ms.-”

 “Oh _blimey_ ,” she grumbled, rolling her eyes and lifting her hand. Lynn was shocked to see a wooden stick. “ _Somnum_ ”

 Mr. Lewis slumped forward onto his desk and smacked his forehead against the papers littered in front of him. Karen and her husband, Bill, stood up, about to yell at the lady but she raised her stick at them too. 

 “ _Silencio_.” She commanded. 

 Lynn grinned from ear to ear to see her parents _literally_ speechless. They were talking, but no sound was coming out.

 “How did you do that?” She asked, entranced with the trick.

 “Exactly what you did to Mr. Trombley.” The lady said gravely.

 Lynnette whirled around and stared up at the old lady, fear and shock in her expression.

 “What are you going to do to me?”

 She laughed, a light chuckle that confused Lynn, as she seemed to be the sort that never really laughed all too much.

 “I’m not going to hurt you, Miss Rossbury. I’m here to share some news with you,” she said, sitting on a chair across from Lynn.

 The Rossbury parents rushed forward, but the lady extended her stick again and commanded in a clear, loud voice, “ _Incarcerous_.” The two were suddenly wrapped up in ropes and toppled to the ground. Lynn whipped her head up to the lady.

 “Who are you?” She asked, in a child-like wonder.

 “I’m Minerva Mcgonagall and I am a witch.”

 “A what?”

 “I am a witch, and so are you.”

 Lynn’s eyes bugged out and she gaped at Minerva.

 “Mrs. Minerva, I think you have a mistake; I _can’t_ be a _witch_ …”

 “And why’s that, Miss Rossbury?” Minerva asked.

 “Because! It’s not-” Lynn glanced at her parents, wincing at the horror in their eyes.

 “It’s not _normal_ , isn’t it?” Minerva confirmed, glaring at the parents. “Well, I can assure you, Lynn, that it’s perfectly normal for a girl like you.”

 “How’s it possible? How am _I_ a witch?”

 “Well because of your parents of course!” Minerva exclaimed.

 “My parents? They aren’t-”

 “No, not _them_ ,” Minerva huffed, pointing at the Rossbury’s, “your _real_ parents.”

 “Real parents?”

 “Yes, Lynnette, your parents told you that you were adopted, right?”

 Lynnette shook her head no, tears in her eyes.

 Minerva shot a glare in the Rossbury’s direction, making them flinch violently.

 “Well, I personally know your father, and he’s perfectly normal to me-” Minerva spoke, her brow scrunched against her forehead.

 “You know my father? My real birth father?” She asked in shock, tears dripping down her cheeks. 

 Minerva frowned at the reaction and glared once again at the Rossbury’s. They were frantically squirming and protesting against the ropes tied around their bodies. Minerva loosened them with a swish of her stick, which Lynn figured must be a wand of sorts… 

 “You two will follow me; I have important information for you all.” She announced, standing up straight and extending a hand for Lynn, an encouraging smile on her thin lips. 

 Lynn hesitantly accepted it and followed Minerva out the door. She aimed her wand at the parent’s heads, smirking as they flinched and followed to where Lynn stood. She turned around and faced the principal, just now starting to wake up. 

 “What is all of this-”

 “ _Obliviate_.” Minerva muttered with a swish of her wand.

 A white light expelled from the tip and washed over Mr. Lewis. He blinked and just stared at the doorway as Minerva turned around and motioned for the Rossbury’s to follow. 

 “Okay, hold onto my arm, the three of you, and brace yourselves.” Minerva said suddenly.

 Karen and Bill violently grabbed her arm as Lynn kept a hold of her hand. Suddenly they disappeared from the school hallway and appeared in the Rossbury’s family living room. Lynn felt her stomach clench at the feeling of her whole body squeezing in itself. In a matter of seconds though, the sensation was gone and they were suddenly in the Rossbury’s living room. Bill immediately fell to his knees with a gag. Karen screamed and fell besides him. 

 “I’m sorry for that, that’s the fastest way of transportation-” Minerva began, but Karen had stood up and was pointing a bony finger in her face.

 “Who and _what_ are you?” She fiercely demanded.

 “Mother!-” Lynn exclaimed.

 “Silence, Lynnette Rose! Go to your room!” Karen screamed.

 “That won’t be necessary, Mrs. Ross-”

 “Shut up! What is going on?!” Karen demanded, her pudgy face going purple.

 Minerva squeezed Lynn’s hand and crossed her arms over her chest.

 “Well this is quite a rude introduction, I could never imagine a guest being treated like this-”

 “You are no _guest_.” Karen hissed.

 “I’ll get some tea!” Lynn recommended.

 Minerva smiled at her again, making Lynn feel proud of herself.

 “That would be lovely, Lynn.”

 As Lynn bounded around the corner, she could still hear the conversation, much to her relief.

 “... do you know her name? How do you know any of us?” Karen commanded.

 “Mrs. Rossbury, I have to introduce myself-”

 “You already did, Minerva.” Karen snapped.

 “-I am Minerva Mcgonagall, a professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.”

 A gasp echoed down the short hall, probably from both of Lynn’s parents.

 “What are you doing here, _witch_?” Bill asked in an icy tone.

 “I am here to inform you that at 2:05 this afternoon, your daughter, Lynnette Rose Rossbury, performed ‘accidental magic’.”

 Lynn grabbed a tray and placed the teacups on them, but paused when she heard unbeating silence. She tip-toed down the hall and strained to hear her mother let out a noise similar to a sob and a gasp.

 “How is that possible?”

 “No,” Bill muttered, “that is _not_ possible. We are a Catholic family, there’s no way she could possibly be a _witch_.”

 “She’s not what _you_ would think of as a witch. Those people are insane and abnormal, not even grasping any magical knowledge-”

 “Then what are you implying?!” Bill exclaimed.

 “She’s a witch by blood; her mother and father were born a witch and wizard. Her father’s father was one and came from a long family line of wizards, but her mum was muggleborn.”

 “Muggle-what?” Karen exclaimed.

 “Muggles are non magic people.” Minerva explained.

 Lynn walked in with the tray and wide, brown eyes.

 “My parents were what?” Lynn asked in disbelief.

 Karen and Bill jumped up to shoo her out, but Minerva put up a hand, causing them to flinch. Minerva faced Lynn and looked at her deeply.

 “You are a witch, Lynnette. Tell me, when you gave that boy the pig snout, what did you feel?”

 “I felt angry, really angry.” Lynn muttered, scowling at the ground.

 “We didn’t raise you to be angry, Lynnette Rose-” Bill exclaimed, but Minerva shot him an icy glare.

 “Did you feel a sensation inside of you as you grew angry? Have you ever felt like that before?”

 “No, I’ve _never_ been angry before, it was a weird feeling.”

 Minerva grinned at Lynn and faced her parents once more.

 “There you have it; she is a witch.”

 “Why are you here? Why must you tell us this?”

 “Because of an important reason, Mrs. Rossbury,” Minerva said, raising her voice and grabbing her tea with a smile and a ‘thank you’ to Lynn, “because of her accidental magic, we were able to find her again.”

 “ _Find_ her?” Bill asked, outraged still.

 “Yes, you see there was a war a few years back, it started a little before Lynn was born.” At the mention of Lynn, Minerva looked to Lynn. “Lynn, this is delicate information for you, are you sure you want to listen?”

Before the Rossbury’s could respond, Lynn nodded her head solemnly. Minerva nodded her head grimly and continued.

 “There was a great war where a great, dark wizard took over our society. He and his followers believed in blood purity, which meant that he didn’t believe in muggles mixing with wizards and witches. They went around killing muggles and those of mixed blood families.” Minerva paused and looked up at Lynn.

 “Lynn, you’re father is a great man and he was off defending the good side under cover, he wasn’t due back for another couple of weeks. But you and your mother went into hiding with another family. That family was intermixed as well, and they were in danger. Someone betrayed them that night and the dark wizard came to the house and-” she paused again.

 “Did he…? Lynn asked, drawing out her question.

 Minerva shook her head yes and looked down at her folded hands. Lynn felt her lip tremble at the sudden thought process going on through her head. _Someone murdered my mom…_

 “This is enough, she doesn’t need to hear lies like that-” Karen interrupted, shaking her head violently.

 “How _dare_ you accuse me of lying about such a subject as that!” Minerva exclaimed, standing up, almost knocking her tea over, “first I get yelled yet- quite rudely i must say- by the both of you, you try to advance on me as I was merely giving information- _truthful_ information, might I say!- to Lynnette, you treat _her_ like rot, and you treat your family _and_ a guest horribly under your own roof.” 

 Minerva was red in the face at this point, which scared Karen and Bill.

 “And,” she added in, “your tea is rubbish! It even _tastes_ American!”

 “Get out of my house!” Bill thundered.

 Minerva straightened herself out, visibly calming down.

 “I must say one last thing,” she cleared her throat, “Lynn’s father would like to meet Lynn.”

 “Absolutely not!” Karen exclaimed, grasping Lynn’s shoulder violently.

 “Why?!” Lynn exclaimed back, ripping her arm free and facing her red-faced mother. “He’s my _dad_! I wanna meet him!”

 “But he’s one of _them_!” Karen yelled desperately, motioning at Minerva.

 Lynn’s face reddened and she clenched her fists. Karen jolted at the look on her face.

 “I happen to be one of _them_ too, mother. I want to meet him.” She commanded.

 Karen gaped at her daughter, before she huffed in outrage and stood up. She glared at Minerva and back down to her red-faced daughter.

 “We will talk about it, but it’s _not_ a final yes.”

 Lynn grinned and whipped around to Minerva. Minerva smiled down at the girl and patted her shoulder, but instead she got an armful of the young girl in her arms. Minerva squeaked, but she eased her arms a bit and wrapped them around Lynn in return. She stood up from the hug and faced the parents before leaving out the door.

 “I will be waiting for a reply in the next few days.”

 And like that she was gone and out the door. Lynn was sad to see her gone, she enjoyed hearing about who she _really_ was. Bill and Karen sighed dramatically in relief and immediately sent Lynn to her room. As she got in there, she jumped on her bed and pulled one of her favorite books out of her secret cupboard in her room.

  _She had a British accent, is my dad British too?_ She thought as she flipped the page and continued reading.

 Thoughts like this kept drifting through her mind for a few minutes, until she couldn’t bear it anymore. She jumped up and sat down at her desk. She started writing everything she learned down, adding doodles alongside the notes. 

 

**Dear Diary,**

**I really want to meet my father.**

**Surprise surprise, I am adopted** **_and_ ** **a witch! A kind lady named Minerva came to the school and saved me from detention for turning Aaron Trombley’s nose into a pig snout!**

**It’s a lot to take in, but I’m excited! I’ve never gotten to be different! Mom and dad always made me tuck my shirts into my uniform and always wear tights and skirts, especially at church. Minerva seemed mad at mom and dad for how they treat me, so maybe she can do something about that!**

**I would like that actually, like a lot.**

 

**I really really want to leave and see who my father is and where he is.**

Suddenly the door opened, and Karen stomped inside. Her eyes suddenly went to the notebook in Lynn’s hands and she lunged for it.

“No! Stop! This is mine!” Lynn exclaimed.

“Obey me right now!” Karen exclaimed, ripping the notebook from Lynn’s hands. 

Her eyes skimmed over the page and she stuck up her nose in disgust. She whirled around to Lynn, literal fire in her eyes.

“You ungrateful child. We opened up our house to you! We converted you when you were little, gave you a home and food to eat! And  _ this _ ,” she said, shaking the notebook, “is how you pay us?!”

“It’s the truth!” Lynn screamed. 

“Take it back!” Karen yelled, pointing at Lynn, “take that back or else you don’t get dinner tonight. 

Lynn felt tears well up in her eyes as she clenched her fist and stood her ground. She could smell the chicken pot pie out on the dinner table, her favorite meal. But despite the grumbling in her stomach, Lynn glared up at Karen with a determined and scared look in her eyes. She screamed when suddenly, Karen struck her across the cheek. She pressed her small hand against the forming hand print and bruise and looked up at Karen with so much fear in her eyes.

“You are not leaving this room.” Karen seethed.

“Well what about school?!” Lynn exclaimed.

“I don’t care!” Karen screamed, stomping her feet, “I will _not_ have an _abnormality_ in this house! You will stay in here and think about what you’ve done and then you may come out. But you have to change your actions and beg for repentance!”  

Lynn choked back a sob by pressing her hand against her lips.

“You’re not my real mom.”

And just like that, Karen smacked her across the other cheek in a fit of rage. Despite Lynn’s screams and the thought of others seeing the abuse she was laying on her daughter, Karen kept hitting the open skin on Lynnette’s small body. She held back after Lynn flinched away from her hand, tears rolling down her cheeks like the Niagra Falls.

“You will learn your lesson, Lynnette.” Karen muttered, slamming the door behind her.

Lynn’s heart broke and shattered, along with her ability to withhold her tears. She collapsed onto the middle of her floor and just cried, holding her knees up to her body for hours. At this moment, she wanted to see what her parents looked like so that she could be reminded that they could have loved her, if they were together and alive.

  
  


~~~X~~~

 

Remus was dumbfounded. He was shocked. He was angry beyond belief.

Minerva had found a way for Remus to see into the house that his daughter lived in. A simple spell that worked just how muggle security cameras worked. Before Minerva had brought the family home, she had gone into different rooms of the house and put spells up that helped Remus see what was going on at all hours of the day. 

He had watched the confrontation with Minerva and the family take place in the living room. He was still in awe at seeing his beautiful daughter. He marvelled at how her eyes were as wide and beautiful like Jeannette’s. They were hazel green though, like his, but she had her mother’s dark brown hair and freckled, pale skin. She was absolutely beautiful for a ten year old girl, and she was  _ his daughter _ .

“She’s smart too, Remus.” Minerva commented with a chuckle as soon as Minerva Apparated back to Remus and Robin’s home in Little Whinging, Surrey, England.

Remus was in too much awe to speak as he continued to watch the cauldron that was showcasing the living room, where evidently the parents had sent Lynnette to her room. He watched as the cauldron switched to another room with Lynnette frantically writing stuff down. 

“What do you think she’s doing?” Remus asked, leaning closer and using his wand to zoom in.

Both of their eyes widened as they read over her shoulder. Remus’ eyes hardened and he turned to Minerva.

“I want to meet her.”

“I know, Remus, we just need to give it time-" 

“But you said it yourself! You think she’s getting abused!”

“We don’t have any proof! Especially muggle proof, and those imbeciles of parents would demand that right from us!" 

“She doesn’t even know mine or her mother’s name! And she herself wants to meet me as well!” Remus whined, frantically throwing his hands everywhere. 

“Remus wait, something’s happening.” Minerva said, motioning towards the cauldron. 

They watched in horror as Karen slapped Lynn across the face. Remus cursed loudly, before apologizing to Minerva, who had flinched at Remus’ outburst. But this time it was Minerva who cursed vibrantly and colorfully as Karen started to beat on Lynn. Remus had to stand up and leave. 

He walked into the kitchen where Robin was doing the dishes the muggle way. Robin turned around and scrunched her brow at Remus as he paced with his hands over his head. She recognized this showcase of emotion. Whenever Remus would get stressed out, especially on full moon nights, he would pace and ring his hands through his hair. She winced as she watched the hair start to stand on end against his head, needing to stop him before he pulled all of his hair out.

“What’s wrong, Remmy?” She asked, drying her hands.

“Th-They, I-I, I-I j-just-” He pressed his hands into his eye sockets and just stood there, trying not to act out with anger like the wolf inside of him wanted to, and also trying not to cry.

Minerva entered the room and carefully settled her hands on Remus’ shoulders. 

“We’ll get her, Remus, I promise you. Just wait and see.” 

Remus just nodded his head and whimpered a bit, shaking at the memory of seeing his daughter scream in pain. Robin was at his side in seconds, pulling him into a warm hug.

“It’s okay, Rem, it’s okay.” She muttered, still confused as to what was happening, but also needing to calm her brother down.

In the past few years, Robin was the over emotional one, always crying over her husband and his sudden betrayal. Robin clenched her hand over the locket that hung underneath her shirt at the sudden memory of his smile and laughter.

_ No, I can’t be thinking of this now, not while Remus is hurting. He actually lost his wife for god’s sake!  _ But there was always that little voice in the back of her head that would whisper back,  _ yeah? Well you might have lost your husband, it’s basically the same. _

“Thanks, Bobbins.” Remus muttered, wiping his cheeks.

She smacked his arm playfully, earning a groan and a chuckle of laughter from her.

“You haven’t called me that for ages, Moony.”

“Oh shut it, Mittens.”

Robin just smiled and rolled her eyes. But inside, she still grimaced at the nickname.  _ It was Sirius’ nickname that he most commonly used for me.  _ Robin was able to brush that thought aside and continue with the dishes as Minerva explained the situation to her.  _ The group gave me that nickname because of our pact, Sirius just started using it more, it wasn’t  _ his  _ nickname to offer me. _

“She  _ hit  _ her?!” Robin bellowed, almost dropping a glass.

“Mummy, are you alright?” A voice from behind called.

Robin twisted around and smiled at her daughter, Astrid. Astrid looked a lot like her, to her relief. Except she had her father’s mischievous side and his brown, wild eyes. As Astrid grew in age, she started asking more questions and always wanted to know about her father. Robin was going to burst one day if Astrid asked one more time. Astrid had a look of concern, and Robin tried not to narrow her eyes at her as she assumed Astrid thought it was related to Sirius in some way. 

“Yeah I’m fine, darling, go back and entertain Romi and Ira, okay?” 

Astrid narrowed her eyes but finally relented and strolled back into the living room. Robin sighed and returned to the conversation at hand.

“Yes, they actually hit her. I told the family to contact me in a few days, but I have my suspicions they won’t be doing that.” Minerva said, grimly. 

“So what are you going to do?” Robin asked.

“I will wait a few days for the answer, and when it doesn’t come I will make a quick call and check in on the girl.” Minerva shared.

“You could also use the excuse that she hasn’t been in school for the past few days and wanted to know where she was.” Remus mentioned.

“That could work too…” Minerva muttered, thinking deeply.

“This will be tricky,” she said with a huff, “but we can do it, Remus.” She said, her and Robin patting Remus’ shoulder fondly.

Remus smiled at the two of them and stared down at his feet.  _ I hope she’s okay _ .   
  
  


~~~X~~~

  
  


Lynn woke up on her fourth day locked in her bedroom to the sound of doors slamming outside in the hall. She barely slept at all throughout the past few days. She was always waiting to see if Karen would unlock the door and she would see her real father standing before her with outstretched arms, but she was always disappointed.

She hopped up onto her window seat and watched through the closed blinds as the school bus picked up the other children her age for school. She moped and stared into the distance. She was actually dreaming up a scenario where she could get onto the bus.

Suddenly a thought struck her and she leaped into action. She quickly pulled on some pants and a shirt, pulling her straggly brown hair back into a pony tail. She leaped up and grabbed the screwdriver she was able to hide and started prying at the closed window. 

The bus would sit there for five more minutes. She needed to hurry. She started to sweat as time ticked by and the window slowly started to pry open. She could hear voices down the hallway from her room. _Mother will be coming in with my scraps for breakfast soon_.   

She almost cheered when the window opened enough for her to squirm through. She hopped out of the window and landed weirdly on her ankle. She winced, holding back a scream, but hobbled forward. She ran as fast as she could onto the bus, always checking behind her if her dad saw her. He would come out and personally tell the driver she was sick and to move on.

She jumped up onto the bus and grinned quickly as she saw the friendly bus driver man, Mr. Hudson. He grinned back at Lynn and gave her a quizzical look.

“Are you feeling better now, Miss Rossbury? Where’s your backpack?”

“I left it at school, and yes I’m feeling much better. Please, if my dad comes out here, can you tell him I’m not on here, or make any mention to me?”

He scrunched his brow and nodded yes. Lynn sighed in relief, but she straightened up with fear as she saw him open the front door and came walking towards the bus. Mr. Hudson grabbed his large jacket and pushed Lynn down onto the seat behind him.

“Put your knees up and hide underneath that on the ground underneath the seat.” He ordered. 

Lynn obeyed and huddled under the seat, throwing the large jacket over her tiny body. She held her breath as her father stepped up onto the bus with a too perfect smile.

“Hello John.” He politely said.

“Hello, Bill, she sick again?”

“Yeah, it must be some weird sort of fever. Karen is taking care of her now.” Bill said as he started to step off the bus. 

“That’s strange, tell I hope she gets better!”

“Will do!” Bill said, but looked over at the jacket on the floor. “Your jacket…” He said, about to grab it.

Mr. Hudson shot him a smile and shooed him off.

“I know, I like putting it under the seat so no kiddos get to it. See you later, Bill.”

Bill shrugged his shoulders.

“A weird concept, but okay. See you!”

Lynn sighed in relief as the doors shut and Mr. Hudson started to drive off. Lynn didn’t get up until they had turned the corner around the block and disappeared from her street corner. She got up and handed the coat to Mr. Hudson. 

“Thank you, so much!”

“Are you alright, girl? Are you in trouble?” He asked, looking at her through the rear view mirror. 

Lynn gaped at him and paled. She obviously couldn’t tell the whole truth.

“I’m fine, it’s just a misunderstanding.” Lynn trailed off.

“Hmmm, seems like one _big_ misunderstanding then.” 

Lynn flushed at being caught in a corner like this. She looked up at him and searched his eyes.

“Please, don’t do anything. I just don’t want to get in trouble or see them get angry with me.” Lynn begged, her eyes filling with tears.

Mr. Hudson smiled a pained smile.

“I’m sorry a sweet girl like you has to go through something so horrible and sick.”

Lynn smiled a sad smile and sat back. 

“Yeah, me too.”

It wasn’t long until they arrived at the school. Lynn shot up and thanked Mr. Hudson with a brief hug and a promise to do something about her problem. She made her way into the school, brushing off the weird looks she was getting from everyone. She knew just the person to confront. 

Students under the age of twelve weren’t allowed to walk through the halls in the morning, but even though Lynn was ten and turned eleven in July (which it was March now), she took her chances and made her way to her main classroom. She opened the door and walked towards the back office room and knocked.

The door opened up to a young woman with black rimmed glasses and blonde hair tied back into a low ponytail. It was her home room teacher, Ms. Morris. She looked confused at seeing Lynn there, but her eyes widened at the bruise around her eye.

“Lynnette! What happened?” She exclaimed.

Lynn had a plan of what she needed to say, but as Ms. Morris kneeled down before her, Lynn felt tears drip down her cheeks. Ms. Morris drew her into a deep hug and that just made her cry even more.

“There there, darling, what seems to be the matter? Who hit you?”

“... M-M-My p-p-parents.”

Ms. Morris paled and stared into Lynn’s eyes deeply.

“Are you telling the truth, Lynnette?”

Lynn nodded her head yes and continued to cry.

“Where else have they hit you?” She demanded, a fierce look crossing her eyes.

Lynn rolled up her sleeves and her shirt, showing all the bruises and cuts that lined her skin. Ms. Morris put a shaky hand up to her mouth and picked Lynn up. 

“You are going to stay in my office for the day, okay? I don’t want your parents to know you were here and see that your attendance for the day was marked in.”

Ms. Morris collected blankets, food, bandaids from the nurse, who came in and inspected Lynn, and chocolate. The nurse, Mrs. Quincy, said she had seriously twisted her ankle from jumping out of the window, and she had a sprained wrist. There was nothing vital or deep that hurt Lynn, to her luck. 

Right before class started and students started pouring into the classroom, Ms. Morris told Lynn to take a nap and relax. Lynn smiled at that, happy she was able to relax after days of panic and torture.   
  


~~~X~~~

 

Ms. Morris, also known as Piper, was frazzled all throughout the day. During her brunch break, she went into her office to check up on Lynnette, and was glad to see she was sound asleep. She grabbed a glass mirror out of her purse and shut herself in her personal bathroom for privacy. She poked at the glass and suddenly a face appeared. 

It was Remus Lupin, the man that she had been speaking to when the old lady, Minerva, had given her the ‘magical mirror’. She hadn’t believed it at first, but was surprised to find out that this Remus Lupin and Minerva Mcgonagall were indeed witches and wizards.

They gave her one task; to make sure Lynnette Rossbury was okay. She hadn’t been showing up for class, so that worried Piper a lot. But seeing Lynnette all bruised like that clearly was something to report in.

“Hullo, Piper, any news?” Remus asked casually, even though she could see the hope in his eyes.

“Yes, in fact, er-” she paused, trying not to get emotional over it. She had been abused as a girl, so this hit close to home for her. “Sh-She showed up today.”

Remus’ brows went up and he clearly was giving off the body language for ‘go on’. 

“But she was injured.”

Remus instantly turned into a thundercloud.

“What?! What’s wrong with her? What’s happening?-”

“She said it was her parents. That her parents h-hit her.”

Remus’ face was deadly blank as Minerva came into view.

“How is she?” Minerva asked.

“She’s covered in bruises, she has a twisted ankle from escaping this morning. I got a call from one of the bus drivers who drove her this morning trying to warn me of this. And she has a sprained wrist, from who knows what.” Piper said with a slight quiver in her voice.

“That’s the last straw.” Remus muttered darkly.

“What should I do?” Piper asked, starting to get scared.

“Hold her there, we will be there before her parents are.”

“O-Okay.” Piper finished, realizing her next class was starting in a few minutes.

“I’ve got to get going, I just wanted to tell you beforehand so that you knew and that I didn’t forget.”

“Thank you, dearly, Piper.” Minerva thanked as the mirror cleared and she was looking at her frantic reflection.

She walked out of the bathroom and checked up on Lynn before starting her next class.   
  
  


“Remus! We can’t go now! We must get the Aurors and warn Dumbledore!” Minerva exclaimed.

“But she’s bruised and hurt!” Remus bellowed.

“Calm yourself, Remus. I will go to the Ministry and get the Aurors, Dumbledore is on his way-”

Suddenly the fireplace in Robin’s fireplace roared to life and Dumbledore stepped through. 

“Remus, stay here with me and wait for Minerva’s signal.” Dumbledore said, going off on what Minerva had just said.

"What?! No, I-" Remus exclaimed, running his shaking fingers through his hair nervously.

"Remus," Dumbledore said with a small smile, placing a hand on his shoulder to steady him. "it will be alright, this situation needs to be dealt with carefully so that we can get you your daughter back. Do you trust me?"

Dumbledore smiled as Remus slowly nodded his head, stuffing his fists into his pockets so that he wouldn't ruffle his hair too much.

“I’ll see you in a bit, Remus.” Minerva said, patting his shoulder and Apparating instantly away to the Ministry.

“We will go first to the Rossbury’s home and talk sense with them, if things go bad, then Minerva will send in the aurors and we will take custody of her, since there’s proof of Lynnette’s abuse.” Dumbledore explained.

Before they got into the fireplace, Dumbledore turned around and faced Remus.

“Don’t let your emotions control your actions at the moment. Okay? We are going to come in peaceful, that sets the peaceful mood. If things get hairy, I will step in, not you, okay Remus?”

Remus nodded his head and followed Dumbledore into the fireplace. They found themselves in a clean, plain living room, with a brown haired lady holding a broom. She looked panicked and was about to scream something, but Dumbledore put his hands up.

“Hello, Mrs. Rossbury, we are here to talk.”

“You’re one of  _ them _ , aren’t you? What are you lot doing here? We want nothing to do with you!” The lady demanded, her face so scrunched up she looked like an ugly pug dog.

“Please, drop the broom, we are here to talk in peace.” Dumbledore began again, sending a small smile her way. 

She squinted her eyes at them.

“You took her. That’s why she’s missing.” She stated angrily.

“I don’t seem to understand what you mean.” Dumbledore said.

“Lynnette is gone, has been since this morning. Now if you lot took her and are going to convert her to your ways-”

“Mrs. Rossbury, may we please have a simple discussion so we can get out of your hair?” Dumbledore asked with a laugh.

It was an awkward silence that raged between the two as Remus watched from the fireplace still.

“Fine, the kitchen table is in here.” She ordered, lowering her broom and stomping into the kitchen.

Dumbledore smiled at Remus and motioned for him to follow. Remus was having a hard time keeping his emotions down. Everywhere he looked he saw something that spoke about Lynnette, his daughter, that he never got to see her grow into. There was a baby doll tucked away behind a chair, some stray crayons on the coffee table, some brushes and clips for her hair. It was all memories that these  _ wretched  _ muggles got to experience and he didn’t.

Mrs. Rossbury sat down at the kitchen table and scowled at the two as they sat across from her. Remus tried not to roll his eyes at the lack of refreshments; Minerva was right… 

“Okay now, who are you and what do you want with my daughter?”

Remus flinched and tried to calm his anger down to a low simmer beneath his skin.

“My name is Albus Dumbledore, I am the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. This is my friend, Remus Lupin, who is the father of young Lynnette.”

Mrs. Rossbury’s eyes whipped over to Remus like the red dot of a sniper rifle. She seemed to be also attempting at keeping her boiling temper down.

“Mr. Lupin, why is it exactly you left Lynnette behind and she ended up in the orphanage in London?” Mrs. Rossbury asked innocently, but the fire was still flaring behind her eyes.

“I was undercover at the time. I was on a job and I was due back home a week later after the incident happened.” Remus muttered through clenched teeth.

“What was this  _ incident _ ?” She asked, twirling her hair around her finger.

Remus breathed in a deep breath slowly.  _ She knows, but she’s just trying to get me riled up. _

“Lynnette’s mother and her godparents were killed.” Remus was able to get out.

“And you were “supposedly out of town” at the time. Hmm, that isn’t adding up…”

“He was a Dark Wizard-”

At the mention of wizard, she snapped and stood up.

“That’s the reason I don’t want my Lynnette to be with you lot. You have dark, evil rulers and you delve into dark arts!” She accused.

“That’s the thing, which is very very ironic, Mrs. Rossbury,” Remus said, keeping his tone level, “is that  _ my  _ daughter is also one of  _ us _ .”

“You  _ stop that _ !” Mrs. Rossbury hissed, jabbing a fat finger in Remus’ face.

Suddenly the fireplace bursted to life and several Aurors piled through. Mrs. Rossbury was about to protest, when one of the Aurors aimed his wand at her face. She shrieked and almost fell out of her chair.

“Mrs. Karena Jones Rossbury, you are on trial at this very moment for the abuse and violence towards Lynnette Rose Rossbury, formerly known as Lynnette Jean Lupin.” The Auror announced.

“What in the- this doesn’t make sense! What do you mean, abuse?!” She exclaimed.

The Auror pulled out a mirror and tapped his wand against it, revealing some of the footage the cauldron and the recording spell got. It showed Mrs. Rossbury slapping Lynn across the cheek and punching her in the stomach. Remus turned around as she started repeatedly slapping and hitting Lynn. Mrs. Rossbury was at a loss for words.

“We have a deal to offer you, Karena.” Dumbledore inputted.

Karena, or Karen,  whipped around, a nasty snarl on her face, but she listened.

“You may ignore our warnings, and we will have no choice but to bring in the muggle police department, we have enough witnesses to help with how they work,” he paused and watched Karen.

“Or you could allow Remus a day to spend with his daughter and have a chance to meet her. If things go smoothly, Remus is looking towards wanting to take her in again, since he has full rights as her legal parent. It’s your choice.”

Karen looked lost, scared, but downright angry.

“You can’t do this-”

“Oh but we can, Karen. We have the police at will and witnesses to plead for Lynnette.”

“Fine!” Karen exclaimed, “Have it your way then. Whatever happens to that rat of a girl, I don’t care-”

Remus started to lunge forward, but Dumbledore and one of the Aurors caught him by the arm. 

“Woah, Remus, settle down, we are just leaving now.” Dumbledore reassured.

  
Remus started to control his breathing as they stepped through the fireplace. He nodded to Minerva, who was the one who was going to get Lynnette and bring her home so she could pack.  _ Finally, I get to meet my daughter _ .

 


	3. Chapter 2: Greetings and Introductions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lynnette and Remus spend a day together! Butalong the way, they meet some new characters....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I keep apologizing with each chapter, but senioritis is REAL people.
> 
> I have some chapters pre-written, I'll just try and actually stay focused and write more...
> 
> Enjoy this chapter!

**Chapter 2: Greeting and Introductions**

 

Lynnette had never been so excited to pack her bag. She didn’t have much clothes, since her parents had always supplied her with minimal amounts of things, but she didn’t care; her wish had come true. She couldn’t stop thinking about what her dad would look like and what stories he would have to offer her. She also wanted to see the pictures of her mom too.  _Who's eyes will I have? Who do I resemble more? What if I don't look like any of them..._

She had been surprised when she saw Minerva after school and Ms. Morris walked her outside. She had been ecstatic when she stepped through the door to her house, and saw Karen scuttle away from her, instead of attack her. She felt powerful and brave.

A knock on the door sounded, and Minerva walked inside as Lynn welcomed her in. Minerva cast a look around the small room with curiosity. Her eyes landed on the notebook sitting on her desk. Lynn smiled and continued packing before answering the unasked question.

“That’s my journal; I write down all my wishes in there, and about half of them just came true today.”

Minerva chuckled at that and picked it up tenderly.

“Do you mind?” She asked, starting to flip open the cover.

A few days ago, Lynn would have screamed if someone else touched her precious notebook, with all of her secrets and desires inside of it. But she nodded her head at Minerva and continued packing.

Minerva smiled as she flipped through random pages. She landed on a recent journal entry and skimmed her eyes over it, feeling shocked at the innocence and desire that Lynn had. She set the book down and smiled at Lynn as she grabbed it and shoved it in her bag.

“Are you ready to go now, Lynn?”

“We _are_ meeting my dad though, right?” She asked, slightly scared.

Minerva took her hand and nodded her head.

“Yes, we are going to see him.”

Lynn practically bounced with joy as she bounded down the stairs and into the living room where the fireplace was. Minerva dimmed her scowl down as she entered the living room and watched as Karen gulped down a shot glass of alcohol.

“I don’t know why you bother with that low life scum, Lynny, he’s freakin’ awful and has anger management issues.”

Lynn straightened her shoulders back and looked up at Minerva.

“Are we ready?” Lynn asked Minerva, deliberately ignoring Karen.

“Ya know, girl, I think it was your dad the whole damn time who killed your mother, he just wanted to get rid of you-” Karen hissed, leaning forward sloppily and almost toppling to the ground.

“Would you kindly shut up, Karena?” Minerva commanded in an icy tone.

“You never acted this snappy before, until these _things_ showed up-”

“I am kindly warning you to _stop it_ , before I turn _your_ nose into a snout.” Lynn muttered, the glimmer of hope in her eyes suddenly replaced with a familiar look to Remus'.

Karen visibly flinched and slammed the glass down on the table. Lynn huffed and took Minerva’s hand as she poured the Floo powder into the fireplace.

“Marauder’s Headquarters.” Minerva said clearly and they suddenly disappeared.

Lynn coughed as some of the fireplace soot got into her nose and mouth. Minerva lead her out of the fireplace as she rubbed her eyes. She straightened up as she heard voices in front of her. She looked up and to her surprise, she saw a young looking man.

He wasn’t too young, say late twenties, early thirties. He had chestnut, light brown hair with a few grey streaks in it. He had sparkly green eyes and stubble tracing his jawline and face. He looked terrified, but when their eyes landed on each other, his shoulders slumped and a smile appeared on his face. Lynn felt a smile grow on hers too as the man walked forward.

“Lynnette,” Minerva said, “this is your father, Remus Lupin, Remus, this is Lynnette.”

 _Remus Lupin, wow, such an elegantly British name!_ Lynn thought as Remus kneeled down before her and extended his large, calloused hand.

“Hullo there, Lynn-” He was cut off by Lynnette throwing herself around his neck in a tight embrace.

Lynn felt her eyes water as she took in his scent and how his large arms felt natural as a father’s embrace around her. She squeezed tighter as he reacted back to the hug and wrapped his arms around her. As she pulled away, she was delighted to see that she wasn’t the only over dramatic crier, and that it was in fact genetic.

“It’s good to finally meet you, dad.” Lynn greeted with a wide smile.

Remus smiled brightly at her and nodded his head.

“It’s good to meet you too, daughter.”

They both laughed and stood up. Lynn’s attention was drawn away by seeing a short woman with the same color of hair to Remus’ and bright green eyes.

“Lynnette, this is your aunt and my sister, Robin Lupin Black.” Remus introduced.

“Oh please, Remmy, I don’t go by Black anymore!” She said in a tense, matter of fact tone.

“My apologies.” Remus said with a smile.

Robin leaned down, just how Remus had, and stuck out a hand to Lynnette.

“Hullo, Lynn, I am Robin. You can call me Auntie, Auntie Robin, Auntie Bobbins-”

“-Aunt Mittens-”

“-Definitely not that one. Call me what you like, as I am your aunt.”

Lynn leaned forward and hugged Robin closely, surprising Robin.

“It’s good to meet you, Aunt Robin.”

Robbin beamed at Lynn and stood up, side-stepping to show a girl about the same size as Lynn.

“This is my daughter, Astrid. Astrid, this is your cousin, Lynnette.”

Lynn smiled at the girl. She looked like a miniature version of Robin, with straight brown hair and a dazzling smile. She had brown eyes though, which sparkled with mischief.

“This is your godmother, Marlene.” Remus introduced.

A tan skinned woman with curly brown hair waved at Lynn. Behind them came a boy about Lynn and Astrid’s age with the same tan skin as his mother and bright blue green eyes hidden behind black framed glasses. He also had a large afro of curly black hair. 

“This is Romi, but his full name is Romulus.” Astrid introduced with a smirk.

“Nice to meet you Romi, Marlene.”

Lynn smiled as everyone laughed. She looked around at everyone. _This is my family_.

“I’ll take your bag up to your room.” Romi said, politely, but a smirk was on his face, which was misleading.

“I can show you up to your room too!” Astrid said excitedly.

Lynn grinned and looked up at Remus. She hugged him once more with a quick squeeze.

“Thank you.” She whispered into his sweater.

Remus hugged her back, swallowing down the happy tears that threatened to spill over and embarrass him. _I finally have her back again._ He watched as Astrid and Romi lead her up the stairs and towards the extra room at the end of the hall. The original muggle house had only had three bedrooms, but Remus and Robin knew a spell that could add extra living space without the exterior showing it.

Robin smiled at Remus and hugged him loosely.

“You have her back, Remmy.”

Remus smiled down at his sister. He knew how hard it must be for her, to see him find the missing piece to his family once again. He was still missing one, Jeannette would be hard to fill for, if possibly ever. Remus once again felt anger flood over him at his ex best friend for all the pain he caused. _Technically he is the one responsible for ripping Lynnette out of his life._

“I’m sorry, Robbi. Is Astrid still asking questions?”

Robin huffed and stepped out of her brother’s embrace.

“Everyday. She is always giving me the look, the sad puppy look. It doesn’t help matters because _he_ would give me that look, and then I get frustrated at the reminder, and she is upset in the end because I yelled at her.” Robin relayed with a huff.

“It’s hard, Robin,” Minerva said, standing beside her. “She just wants the truth. She’s growing up and one day she isn’t going to find out from you if you aren’t fast enough.”

Robin shook her head and grimaced slightly.

“This is your day, Remus. Go and be happy, spend the day tomorrow with your _daughter_ , your _family_.” She said, tugging at his sleeve.

Remus once again found himself smiling.   


 

~~~X~~~

  


“You’re from America?!” Romi asked enthusiastically.

The two children were helping Lynn unpack and were trying to get to know her by asking random questions.

“Yup, I lived in California.” Lynnette responded with a smile.

“That’s such a mystery; how you could get from here to there.” Astrid pondered, scrunching her brow comically.

“What do you mean?” Lynn asked.

“Well you _are_ uncle Remus’ daughter, so how did that happen?” Astrid thought out loud.

“Parents,” Romi said with a huff, “they never tell us anything.”

“Yeah, you got that right.” Astrid muttered with a groan.

Lynn scrunched her brow and set her shirt down.

“What have your parents not told you?” Lynn asked.

“I don’t know who my dad is, probably never will by how my mum goes along with the topic.” Astrid huffed with a scowl.

“My dad died too, but my mum won’t tell me anything either; it’s just that Astrid’s case is a bit more of a mystery.” Romi said, patting Astrid’s back.

“What do you mean?” Lynn asked, plopping down on the bed beside them.

“Well, my mum kept my dad’s last name until she married Andy.” Romi said.

“And all the while, my mum raised me as Astoria Ray Lupin,” Astrid said, her cheeks reddening at her full name.

“Your full name is Astoria?!” Lynn exclaimed.

“Yeah, and I never would have realized that my dad wanted to call me Astrid until i heard my mum yelling to Uncle Remmy about it.” Astrid exclaimed.

“What else did they say?”

“I heard her say this precisely, “Remus, I can’t stop looking at her without seeing Sirius bloody Black and being reminded that he wanted to name her Astrid!” Unbelievable, right?!” Astrid vented, shaking her hands dramatically.

“That’s sad, something terrible must have happened.” Lynn said, patting Astrid’s knee.

“I know, but I don’t know what and it frustrates me.” She pouted, earning a chuckle from Romi.

“What if they aren’t telling you for a specific reason? What if truly was a bad situation?”

“I think it’s linked to you, Lynn.” Romi said, raising his brow and searching her face.

“Me?!” Lynn exclaimed.

“Yeah, also my dad’s death; these events all took place around the same time! You don’t remember Remus or your mother, right?” He asked, pushing his glasses back on his nose.

“No, I had no idea what they looked like.” Lynn responded.

“Exactly! I don’t remember what my father looked like either! I have no memories! Same with Astoria! It’s because we were babies when it happened. I remember my mum telling me the date that my dad died, and it was September twentieth, nineteen eighty-one. I was born in January of that year, while Astrid was born on November of the past year, eighty. When were you born?”

“My mom and dad said that I was born somewhere in July, so they just assigned a day to me, which was the twentieth.”

“We will ask Uncle Remmy then,” Astrid said with a mischievous smile, “we could finally get some answers!”

“Let’s not try and make your mum angry though, I only just got here.” Lynn said, a little worried.

“Okay, fine, we will lay low.” Astrid grumbled.

“Maybe something tame we could do, is find pictures of our parents? Do you think Aunt Bobbins would have any pictures?” Romi suggested, asking Astrid his question.

“Probably, I hope so. She might have burned them all, but she might-oh!” She exclaimed, “She has a locket! It might have his picture in it!”

“Excellent!” Romi and Lynn said with a cheer.

Suddenly a knock on the door sounded, making the kids jump. The door cracked open to reveal Remus peeking his head in.

“Mind if I join the pow wow?” He asked with a teasing smirk.

“What’s that?” Astrid asked, her eyes lighting up as Remus sat down on the edge of the bed.

“It’s a muggle Native American term for a meeting. What are you all discussing?” Remus explained, plopping down on the bed beside me.

“Oh nothing, just trying to decipher how Lynn could have ended up in America of all places.” Romi stated.

Remus’ smile faded slightly and he looked over at Lynn.

“Yeah, I wonder the same sometimes.”

“Uncle Remmy,” Astrid spoke up, timidly, “what really did happen?”

Remus sighed and lowered his head.

“It’s very complicated, and it’s not my story to tell, Astrid. Your mum will tell you when she’s ready.”

“Well what if I’m ready?” She pouted, crossing her arms across her chest.

“I would love to inform you, but really, it’s more of a discussion for another day, alright?” He said, smiling again.

“Er, uh, d-dad?” Lynn stuttered.

“You can call me anything you like, don’t feel rushed or pushed to do, alright?” Remus said with a smile, earning one from Lynn, “what is it, darling?”

“What does my mom look like?”

Remus smiled more, a painful look in his eye, but he reach underneath his collared shirt under his sweater and pulled out a chain and locket necklace.

“She wore this when she died, I had been wanting to give it you for the longest time.” Remus said, offering the necklace to Lynn.

Lynn’s eyes widened and she looked up at Remus.

“Th-Thank you.” She muttered, gently taking it and opening it up.

Inside was a moving picture of a dark haired woman. She had the lightest blue eyes Lynn had ever seen. She was smiling at the camera and laughing, the wind carrying the ends of her hair and her bright yellow scarf. She was very pale, but fair and the most beautiful woman Lynn had ever seen. She felt tears burn at her eyelids as she watched the woman laugh on a loop.

“Her name was Jeannette, Jeannette Marie Remington. We named you after her though, Lynnette Jean Lupin.”

Lynn looked up with a smile, tears falling down her cheeks.

“Thank you, so so much.” Lynn muttered, hugging Remus’ side fiercely.

Remus beamed as he hugged her back. As they parted, he caught a glimpse of her, his beautiful but dead wife. He felt the tears sting, but he held them back as he watched Lynn stare longingly at the locket.

  


~~~X~~~

  


The next morning was a bright, blue skied day. It was brisk and chilly, but the sun and sky were out to cast a good impression. Remus came out of his room to see Robin peering out the kitchen window, totally ignoring her burning eggs.

“Your eggs are burning.” Remus stated, grabbing the coffee on the stove and pouring himself some.

Robin cursed and jumped, her attention back to the food in front of her.

“Was it him again?” Remus asked, actually curious this time as he watched the owl fly up to the window with the Daily Prophet.

He opened the window for it, and took a  quick peek into the neighboring window to see a little brunette boy with gold rimmed, cracked glasses scrubbing pots and pans in the sink. He sent the owl on its way before the boy could see the owl and closed the window.

“Yes! They haven’t replaced his glasses from the last time Romi saw that oaf of a child whack him with the cricket bat!” Robin exclaimed, angrily, grabbing a plate and scooping eggs onto it for Remus.

He smiled at her as she set it down for him and got started on some toast.

“I know, it’s frustrating, but we need to-”

“-obey Dumbledore’s orders, I know, I know! But it’s a load of rubbish!” Robin hissed, rolling her eyes like she always did back in their Hogwarts days.

Remus took another glance out the window to see the horse-faced woman smack the boy across the head. Remus felt his fingers twitch and found that he was wrinkling the edge of the Prophet.

“-and they are making him make their breakfast! How horrible is that?!” Robin exclaimed.

The stairs creaked and the three kids came running down into the kitchen. Remus beamed as Lynn smiled and sat down beside him. Her eyes widened at the newspaper in front of them.

“Are those moving _too_?” She asked animatedly.

“Yup, this is the Daily Prophet.” Remus explained, flipping to a page where the paper was documenting the details of a Wizard concert for a singer named Izzy Mudkipper.

“Wow, that’s so cool.” Lynn muttered in awe as she tried to read how the concert went.

“Are you talking about _him_ mum?” Astrid asked Robin as she took one last peek out the window.

“What boy?” Lynn asked before Robin could interfere.

“The neighbor boy who is locked away all the time,” Romi said, peeking out at him. “His parents don’t ever really let him outside, unless they are with him.”

Suddenly the boy looked up from washing a bowl in the sink and made eye contact with them. They all gasped and ducked from view.

“That’s what you get for peeking!” Robin threatened as the kids gathered around the table.

“Why’s he locked up?” Lynn asked, kicking her feet from the ground.

“We don’t know, but mum and uncle Remus do.” Astrid said, setting her chin in her hands and stared at Remus plainly.

Remus pretended not to notice and hid his face in the paper.

“Dad, why is he locked up?” Lynn asked, tugging at his sleeves.

“Because of very adult reasons, that’s why.” Remus explained.

“I was in a very adult situation.” Lynn pointed out, taking a bite out of the toast that Robin set out for the kids.

Robin and Remus paled and looked at each other.

“That you were, but that doesn’t mean that we have to sit here and gossip.” Robin said, sending a stern look at Astrid.

“I don’t think he’s being loved very much.” Lynn pointed out, causing Remus to spray his coffee all over the Daily Prophet.

The kids shrieked and giggled as Remus swished his wand and cleared up the mess.

“What makes you say that, Lynn?” Remus asked, concerned.

“He has the look; I know that look.” She said innocently biting her toast.

At this point, Marlene had been waiting in the entryway and huffed at the sight. Everyone turned to her as she shook her head at Robin.

“You better tell them something, or else they will grow up bitter and angry at you lot for eternity.” Marlene mumbled, causing a spark of hope to shimmer in Astrid’s eyes.

“But are they ready to hear it?!” Robin exclaimed.

“You don’t need to lay everything down on them, just give them some basic information.” Marlene said, grabbing a piece of toast herself and rubbing her hand through Romi’s hair.

Robin rubbed her eyes tiredly and plopped down beside Remus.

“Fine, kids, you better swear you must not tell _anybody_ , understood?”

The kids all shook their heads in understanding.

“A long time ago, Me, Uncle Remus, Aunt Marlene, and your Aunt Jeannette a-and-” Robin paused, tears forming in Robin’s eyes.

“We were all friends. Me, your Aunt Robin and Marlene, and Aunt Robin’s husband, your Uncle Sirius were all friends.” Remus jumped in and explained.

“We were also friends with three other people; James Potter, Lily Evans, and Peter Pettigrew. While we were all friends, we were in the middle of a war, I’m not explaining I’m just giving the details alright?”

The kids shook their heads, eyes all wide.

“James and Lily got married and had a son, named Harry. Me and J-Jeannette had you, Lynn, a few weeks before Harry was born. Then Sirius and Robin had you, Astrid, and Marlene and John had you, Romi.

“But James, Lily, and Jeannette were all killed in the Potter house. Peter was later killed a few days after them. The boy next door, that’s Harry, Harry Potter.”

“Why is he there and not with us?” Lynn asked.

“It’s a long story, but he had no other family and was sent to live with Lily’s sister. We want to take him in, but are in the process of doing so. That’s why we moved here, so we could keep an eye on him and try and get enough information to take him in.” Remus said.

“What about my dad-” Astrid jumped in.

“That’s a story for another time, Astrid.” Robin explained, her face pale.

“But why?! I want- no _need_ to know!”

“What about this,” Remus said, jumping in, “what about that picture you have, Robbi, why don’t you give her the picture?”

Robin looked up at Remus with wide, pale green eyes. She finally nodded her head and looked at Astrid.

“I am sorry. I really am, honey. I-It’s hard for me to explain, and I need to work on myself in order to explain to you. Please, give me some time to work myself out so that you can understand?” Robin asked on the brink of tears.

“Fine, but I want to know, mommy.” Astrid agreed, looking down at her lap.

“I know, honey, I know. I’ll go and get the picture.” Robin said, getting up from the table.

Astrid’s face brightened and she grinned at Lynn excitedly.

Remus sent a smirk over to Marlene, who was standing back and watching the scene with a smirk. She winked at him. He mouthed, ‘thank you’ to her. Robin entered the room again, brushing her palms against her cheeks as she sat down, carrying a small frame gently.

“Okay, this is a picture of when your father and Harry’s were in school at Hogwarts on the quidditch team.” Robin explained before showing.

“What’s quidditch?” Lynn asked.

“It’s a game you play on a broom. It’s complicated, but I’ll explain it later.” Romi said with a smirk.

Robin slowly handed the frame to Astrid, her face still pale.

“The one with the glasses is James Potter, and the other one is, well, Sirius.” Robin said slowly.

Astrid gaped down at the picture, her brown eyes taking in the whole picture. Lynn leaned over Astrid’s shoulder and examined the moving picture. It was on a field with a set of stands in the background with two men holding large broomsticks.

There was a man with golden rimmed glasses who was laughing and smiling at something the other man said and looking at the camera. He had his arm around the other man and looked like he was going to fall over with laughter. He had brown eyes and curly, brown hair that was sticking in all kinds of different directions.

The other man was a bit taller than James and had long, black, shaggy hair that hung barely above his shoulders. He was smirking and laughing at the camera with his arm around James. He had the same dark brown eyes that Astrid had and the same mischievous smirk. He was a handsome young man, Lynn admitted to herself.

“How old was he here?” Astrid asked, her voice shaky.

“He was seventeen, we were about to graduate.” Robin said, hiding a small smile that had crawled onto her face. She hid it with a small scowl.

“Thank you, mommy.” Astrid said breathlessly, standing up and hugging Robin fiercely.

Robin hugged back and watched Astrid run off to her room with the picture.

“That was the last time we were all truly happy.” Remus muttered.

Robin tried to smile, but squeezed her hand on Remus’ bicep fondly.

“I was truly happy when I saw Astoria for the first time, and I knew you were beyond happy to see Lynn in Jean’s arms.”

Lynn felt a smile grow on her face and she hugged her dad, earning one back.

“That is quite true, Mittens.”

“Shut up, Moony.”

“Oh the nicknames, i can’t forget the nicknames!” Marlene exclaimed with a laugh.

“Don’t think we forgot yours, Hawkins.” Remus said with a mischievous smirk.

Lynnette smiled at the parents reliving their past. But she was still drawn to the boy next door, and the sad, love-deprived look on his pale face.

  


~~~X~~~

  


The first thing that was decided of the day was for Remus and Lynnette to spend the day alone. They decided to go to Diagon Alley to go and visit a few shops before going to lunch at Hogsmeade and spending the rest of the day there.

The two agreed on different locations; they both liked books, and Lynn was intrigued by wizard candy and clothing. Remus had a few ideas in mind and plotted out a plan. Later in the day, Romi and Astrid would be meeting them for dinner and to spend the rest of the day with them. Lynn was excited.

She got dressed in one of her nicest dresses, but Remus took a look at her face, scrunched his brow, and flicked his wand. She gasped as her dress went from the proper sunday school girl look, to a flowy skirt and a freeing white button up blouse with a matching sweater over it.

“You look more like your age, and not some old woman trapped in a ten year old body.” Remus had said, causing Lynn to giggle and laugh.

“Are you ready to Floo, Lynn?” Remus asked, taking her hand and stepping into the fireplace.

She shook her head and watched as he grabbed the Floo Powder and announced ‘Diagon Alley’. She felt a sudden rush and immediately found herself in a friendly looking shop. Lynn’s eyes widened as she took it all in; all of the wizards with great big hats on their heads and their wands in hand.

Remus placed a hand on her shoulder and lead her through the crowd into the main road.

“I just have to get some cash for the day real quick.” Remus said as they walked towards a great big building looming ahead.

Lynn was intrigued by the goblins running the bank. They glared and snarled at her, but she couldn’t help but gape in awe at them. As they finished in there, Remus showed Lynnette some of the small antique stores with many old wizard and muggle related items there.

Lynn was intrigued and fascinated. She loved looking at the different kinds of furniture with all the intricate designs etched on. She found a beautiful chain and necklace and a nice frame.

“Maybe I could put a picture of you or mom in it!” She suggested innocently.

Remus smiled at her, squeezed her little hand, and lead her towards his personal favorite shop; an antique bookstore. There, they found many one of a kind book collections that belonged to several wizard writers, but a few muggle ones that Lynn was familiar with; like C.S Lewis, and Tolkien.

There, Remus heard stories of all the times that Lynn had snuck books into her room and hid them from her parents (’especially the magical ones, mom and dad hated those’). He laughed at her little jokes and her sense of humor. She was a lot like her mother to him.

They entered a robe shop at one point and Lynn was looking through some of the racks, when she turned around and came face to face with a short blonde boy. He was slightly smaller than Lynn, pale blonde hair, and bright grey eyes that stared at her quizzically.

“Are you going to pick _that_ color?” He asked, disapprovingly.

“Oh I don’t know, maybe.” She shrugged and looked back at the red robe set in her arms.

“Personally, I don’t think red suits your complexion; more like a yellow or a green.” The boy said, staring even more intently at her.

“I’m Lynnette,” Lynn introduced, extending her hand, “and you are?”

“Draco, Draco Malfoy. You must be a muggle born.”

“What makes you say that?”

“You don’t recognize my last name, you aren’t walking or running in the other direction at this point.” He pointed out, a slight look of hurt in his eyes.

“Is there a reason for me to do so?” She asked, smirking at the boy, Draco.

He flushed and looked down at the pile of robes he was looking through.

“No, it’s just some people are too quick to judge sometimes.”

“I understand that, I don’t like it when people do that. My parents would do that all the time.”

“‘Would’?” He asked, raising his brow.

“Yeah, I’m visiting my real dad, my blood dad, and I’m hoping he takes me in.”

“Well I hope so too, sticking around judgy people can really affect your brain.” Draco teased.

Lynn laughed and noticed that Remus was calling for her.

“I better go, it was nice meeting you Draco!”

“You too, Lynnette!” Draco waved goodbye.

“Who were you talking too?” Remus asked as they left the building.

“A really nice boy who wasn’t too quick to judge.” She said with a smile.

Remus just smiled and dropped the subject, happy that his _daughter_ was happy.

They ended up feeling hungry, Lynn’s stomach had growled and she had giggled, and so they took the Floo from inside the Leaky Cauldron to Hogsmeade.

Lynn instantly fell in love with Hogsmeade; the quirky little shops and houses, the people passing by with smiles on their faces. As they got there, Remus had forgotten that this weekend was a Hogwarts Hogsmeade weekend. They stepped out of one of the buildings and were astonished to see several teens and children scrambling around.

“Why are there so many kids here?” Lynn asked, astonished at the sight.

“This is the Hogwarts students, they like to come down here on designated weekends and spend the day here.” Remus answered her, taking a hold of her small little hand.

“Hogwarts? I’ve heard you and Minerva say that… What is it?” Lynn asked.

“It’s a magical school, for young witches and wizards starting from the age of eleven up until they are seventeen.” Remus said as they watched a group of boys start chasing and throwing things at each other.

“Am I magical? I made someone’s nose into a pig’s snout, is that magic?” Lynn asked, her eyes wide and desperate.

“Yes, we believe so. Once a child shows signs of accidental magic, the summer before their eleventh birthday Hogwarts school will send them an acceptance letter.”

“My eleventh birthday is coming up!” Lynn announced excitedly. “Do you think I will get in?”

“I hope so, darling.” Remus chuckled.

“Why do you hope?” She asked as they turned a corner and saw The Three Broomsticks looming up ahead.

“Because then I will get to see you more.” He said with a smile.

“Well then I hope so too.” Lynn said confidently, sending a flutter of happiness in Remus’ gut.

They entered the restaurant and immediately got showed to a small booth in the back. There were groups of students at several booths, all laughing and talking merrily. Remus happened to cast a glance sideways, when he suddenly caught sight of pink hair. His eyes widened and he quickly turned around to face Lynn.

“So, what is your favorite food, Lynn?”

Suddenly before she could answer, Remus felt a body slam into his in a tight hug. He could hear Lynn giggling and laughing. He looked up and scrunched his brows at the sight of Nymphadora.

“I am offended, Moony, I deserve at least some sort of greeting!” The wild haired teen girl said sassily.

Remus tried to hold down his grin and raised a brow at the girl.

“Why hullo, Nymphie, pink looks good on you, but it kind of clashes with the yellow…” He said, pointing to her yellow scarf.

“Always the negative Nancy, aren’t you, Remus? And how many times am I going to have to side tackle into you to get you to call me Tonks?!” She exclaimed.

She paused when she heard another giggle, and glanced over at Lynn, sitting across from Remus. She raised her brow in surprise.

“Isn’t she a little too young to be on a date with you, Rem? Even _I_ am a better candidate than this! It’s the hair, huh? Fine, I shall change it then.” Tonks said comically.

Lynn gasped as the pink hair suddenly morphed into long, wavy brown hair. Lynn looked down at her own and realized it was _her_ hair. _But how is that possible?!_ Lynn pondered.

“ _Tonks_ , this isn’t my date, this is my daughter; Lynnette.” Remus explained, trying to hide his growing blush.

Tonks started playing with the ends of her hair but paused when he said that. Her grey eyes widened and she stared back at Remus.

“You found her? Oh that’s so great Rem!” She cheered, hugging him again.

It was very disconcerting for Remus to see his daughter’s hair on his shoulder, but smell the honeysuckle shampoo that Tonks always used. He patted her back and parted after a few seconds.

“Yes, we were just having lunch. And please, change the hair, it’s very disconcerting.”

Lynn giggled as Tonks made a face at him and watched as the hair shortened to a fancy cut above her shoulders, and the hair lightened to a bleached blonde look.

“I always liked this look better though.” She said as she patted her head fondly.

“How do you do that?!” Lynn asked in wonder.

“I am a metamorphmagus, I can change my appearance however I like.” Tonks said proudly.

“That is so cool!” Lynn exclaimed.

“Yeah, I think it’s pretty neat, especially when I can do this,” she suddenly changed into an exact copy of Remus.

Remus jumped and hid a curse behind his hand, causing Lynn to laugh even harder.

“Would you _stop_ that!” Remus exclaimed, placing hand over his heart.

“Oh stop being such a sourwolf!” Tonks teased as she turned back into herself with the short bleached blonde hair.

“Do you go to Hogwarts, Tonks?” Lynn suddenly asked.

“Why yes, yes I do. I am a seventh year this year and in Hufflepuff House.” Tonks said proudly.

“What is Hufflepuff?” Lynn asked.

“You haven’t properly educated her?! My goodness, Moony, you _are_ a mess!” Tonks exclaimed in fake outrage, causing Remus to rub his head so that he could hide his laughter.

“Hufflepuff is a House at Hogwarts. The four founders of the school were Godric Gryffindor, Salazar Slytherin, Rowena Ravenclaw, and the best and fabulous; Helga Hufflepuff. They all represented certain character traits and personalities; Gryffindor was brave and chivalrous, Ravenclaw was witty and smart, Slytherin was cunning and ambitious, and Hufflepuff was loyal and kind.

“These four founders decided to create the school, but let a Sorting take place to place each student into a House based on their character. The students all go to the same school and do the same classes, but since everyone is different, they are all split up to be in groups of people similar to them.

“I was Sorted into Hufflepuff, and some people will tell you how lame and weak us ‘Puffies are, but let me tell you that even though we are kind and loyal, if you cross paths with someone we care about, we are like a sleeping dragon that will be awakened.” Tonks finished, waving her hands and jabbing fingers dramatically.

“That sounds cool! I want to be a Hufflepuff!” Lynn announced, smiling up at Tonks.

Remus’ heart did a backflip and he could see Tonks beaming at him out of the corner of his eye.

“You _also_ forgot to mention _that_ , Remus? Good heavens, you’re a lost case!” Tonks announced.

She looked back at Lynn with a warm smile.

“Your mother, Jean, was a Hufflepuff too. I used to look up to her and your Aunt Robin; they were and still are my idols.”

“My mom was a Hufflepuff? And Aunt Robin?!” Lynn exclaimed with enthusiasm.

Remus smiled warmly at her.

“Yes, she was, and she was the most kindest, if not frightening women I have ever known.” He paused and looked up at Tonks. “Except you, you’re pretty frightening.”

Tonks socked him in the shoulder as he laughed heartedly. Lynn laughed, but she couldn’t stop thinking about her mom being kind. _My mom was kind_ and _fierce._

Suddenly a red haired boy bounded up to the table. He had a charming smile and clapped Remus on the shoulder.

“Hey Remus! It’s nice to see you!”  
“Hey Charlie! How’s being Gryffindor Captain going?” Remus asked, turning so he could see the red head boy named Charlie.

“It’s doing pretty good! We are undefeated so far,” he sent a smirk Tonks’ way who playfully scowled back at him, “you should come to out to one of our games! We are playing Ravenclaw in April.”

“That sounds like fun! I shall see about it! Charlie, I would like you to met my daughter, Lynnette, Lynnette this is Charlie Weasley. He’s also a seventh year but in Gryffindor House.” Remus introduced.

Charlie smiled and extended his hand to Lynn, who shook it back.

“It’s nice to meet you, Lynnette. I’m glad to see that you found her, Remus.” Charlie said to Remus with a warm, sincere smile.

Remus ducked his head and smiled.

“Well we best be off, Nymphie is in our group and we are about to head out and do more shopping,” he ducked one of Tonks’ punches, “it was nice meeting you, Lynnette!”

“Nice meeting you, Charlie!” Lynnette called as the two Seventh years ducked away.

“Bye Lynn! I better hear that you are Sorted into Hufflepuff!” Tonks called as they left the building.

“I like her.” Lynn said with a bright smile.

“Yeah, me too, even though she can be a pain in the arse sometimes.” Remus said with a chuckle.

The waitress came by and got their orders, Remus getting a plate of fish and chips, and Lynn getting a plate of american muggle chicken strips and fries, much to her delight.

“I liked Charlie too, he has a nice smile.” Lynn said as she bit into her chicken.

“He is a nice guy, he comes from a very big family, so it’s a wonder he’s still sane up until now!” Remus said as he ate his food as well.

“How big _is_ his family?” Lynn asked in wonder.

“Quite big; his mother is named Molly and she is teaching her younger kids basic schooling, along with Astrid and Romi, until they are old enough to go to Hogwarts.”

“How many kids does she have?”

“Seven. There’s Bill who graduated about two years ago, Charlie is the second oldest, then there’s Percy who’s a third year this year, Fred and George are twins and they are first years this year, then there’s Ron who’s your age, and Ginny who’s a year younger.”

“Woah, that’s a lot of kids.” Lynn muttered in astonishment.

“I know, it’s quite insane if you ask me.” Remus muttered as well, chuckling as he ate his food.

“Did you and mom want more kids too?” Lynn suddenly asked, causing Remus to choke. “I’m sorry, was that a rude question-”

“No, no, darling it’s fine,” Remus said, recovering from the shock, “yeah, we wanted more kids.” He paused and chuckled. “She wanted all girls and wanted to name them elegant names. You would be Lynnette Jean, she wanted a daughter name Emmaline Joy, Georgia Rose, Sophia Marie. I wanted to have two girls and two boys, maybe name one after my dad, who was John, and have another boy named, I don’t know, Theodore.”

He paused again and looked at his daughter, his smile fading slowly.

“Yes, we wanted to have a beautiful family, grow old together, watch our children go to Hogwarts and live their lives. But,” he said, swallowing the lump in his throat, “what’s done is done. I would very much love to be your father again and watch you grow and become a beautiful young lady.”

Lynn’s eyes welded up with tears.

“I wanna be with you too, daddy.”

Remus’ heart imploded as she got up out of her seat and rounded around the table and landed on him in a hug. Remus immediately hugged back, relishing the beautiful, glorious moment they were having.

  
_I will do anything to be with you, Lynnette, I will do anything._


	4. Chapter 3: The Deal of a Lifetime

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Remus and the Rossbury's meet in person to discuss the possibility of taking back Lynnette and a few secrets about the dark haired boy next door are revealed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! I'm actually uploading a bit frequently! I'm going to go with the flow and see if I can actually force myself to sit down and write this whole idea down. I have an end goal all planned out and a pretty decent sketched out plan of what's going to happen.
> 
> I think I accidentally uploaded the wrong chapter after chapter one( I accidentally uploaded chapter 3 next) so I hope this all makes sense now!
> 
> Thanks for reading so far!

**Chapter 3: The Deal of a Lifetime**

 

“That was probably the best day I’ve had in a long time.” Remus muttered, staring down into his tea.

Robin turned around from stirring her tea next to the stove. She smiled at Remus, lost in thought with a dreamy smile on his face. She grabbed her tea and cupped it close. She sat down in front of him with a smirk on her face.

“Even though you were ambushed by dear Tonks?”

Remus’ cheeks flared and he looked up with a light hearted scowl.

“Yes, even though she was there, I guess she’s not half as bad…” He muttered into his tea.

Robin snorted and took a sip herself.

“But then the other half of the time she’s undeniably trying to flirt with you and express her undying love?”

“She’s a teenager, she’s allowed to have a crush…” Remus muttered, twitching slightly.

“You said she copied Lynn’s hair? How was that?” She asked carefully.

Remus sighed and smiled slightly.

“It was a bit creepy to see her with long hair, but she didn’t impersonate Jean too much. She gave me a look before she did it, to which I was relieved.” Remus muttered.

“You know she never really understood what was going on back then, she was only trying to make you smile.”

Remus smiled at the thought. When Nymphadora was nine or ten, just after the war had ended, she had been getting better at controlling her changes. She had been out of control as a child, always randomly morphing into something or another when her moods would swing. 

Remus was still getting over the loss of Jean and Lynn at the time. Robin had forced Remus to go over to her cousin in law’s, Andromeda and Ted Tonks, for dinner. He had been sitting in the living room when Nymphadora had ambushed him. She had always adored Remus, James, and Sirius as a little kid, and since Remus was the only one left, she clung to him. Sirius incident had struck her hard for an eight year old girl.

She had seen the locket on Remus’ neck of Jean and had always marvelled at how pretty she was. The night before she had been practicing morphing into people she knew, and she had remembered Jean’s face and had focused on her memory, suddenly appearing as her.

She smiled at Remus and tugged at his arm, exclaiming that she had something to show him and that she had been practicing. She morphed into Jean right before Remus, and he froze on the spot. Tears had poured down his cheeks and he had hunched in on himself. Nymphadora had been terrified, afraid if she had hurt him in some way, and tried to get closer, but he moved away from her touch. 

Robin ran into the room, saw the predicament, and had shooed Nymphadora out of the room while Andromeda tried to coax Remus out of his position. Robin had a long talk with Nymphadora that night and they agreed that she would ask permission before morphing into someone specific, just in case she wouldn’t hurt anyone’s feelings or scare them.

“Yeah, I know, I was just-” he paused and looked up from his tea, “I was just scared and lonely. I wanted my daughter back and just suddenly seeing Jean there had shook me hard.”

“I don’t think she will ever stop apologizing though, she will randomly do that, just apologize out of nowhere.” Remus said with a small smile.

“But I’m glad you had a nice day with Lynn,” Robin said with a smile, “she said she wants to be with you?”

Remus beamed suddenly and looked down at his tea again.

“Yeah, she wants to be with me.” 

“Well then,” Robin said, getting up from the table, “I’m contacting the family.”

“Right now?” Remus asked, bewildered.

“Remus, there’s a time difference from here to America.” Robin sassily said.

“Oh, right.” Remus muttered, embarrassed.

Robin peeked through the fireplace after calling their house. She stepped through and was gone for a few minutes before jumping back through. 

“What did they say?” Remus asked as she brushed the soot off of her pants.

“‘To get the hell out’, and ‘sure, we will meet with you as long as you leave instantly’.” Robin said with a cheeky smile.

“Really?! When?” Remus asked enthusiastically.

“Tomorrow morning, it will be in the evening for them then.” Robin said, giving Remus a hug.

“It’s happening big brother, it’s really happening.”

Remus couldn’t sleep that night, he was so excited. He just laid up in his bed and stared at the moving picture of himself and Jean holding hands and laughing together on the front step of the Potter house.

He and Jean were going to buy a house once the war was over. They had their eyes on a small cottage near the Potter’s. It was small and quaint, but they absolutely loved it. 

Lily and Jean had become close friends in their fifth year. Even though they were in separate Houses, the two were Prefects and got along in classes because they were the smartest.

Lily became Lynn’s godmother at Jean’s request, and Sirius became Lynn’s godfather. Sirius was astounded when he heard that James and Lily had  _ also _ wanted Sirius to be the godfather of Harry.

Remus’ memories and thought process were interrupted by the rising of the sun. He sat up and stretched in his bed. He needed to get up and do something. He got up from his bed and started to get dressed in loose clothing. He pulled on a pair of muggle jeans, and a loose, maroon sweater.

He quietly walked down the stairs and started to make himself coffee. He was struggling with how many scoops of coffee grounds to add when he heard someone else sneak downstairs. He looked up to see Robin. She was smiling at him knowingly and motioned for him to scoot over.

“You will never survive without me.” She mumbled, scooping two scoops into the pot.

“Whatever, Mittens.” He mumbled.

“Talking about Mittens, I haven’t stretched my legs in quite a while.” She said with a smirk.

Remus smiled, knowing exactly what she was asking.

“Do you want to go on a walk with me?” She asked as the water started to boil.

“Sure, I need to do something to keep moving.” Remus agreed.

“Did you sleep at all last night?” She asked.

“Nope.” He said, popping the ‘P’.

“Explains a lot.” Robin muttered, causing Remus to chuckle.

Robin finished the coffee and the two of them sipped their warm drinks in a peaceful silence. 

“The Rossbury’s will be here at nine.” Robin said, as she finished the last of her coffee.

Remus smiled and placed his mug in the sink alongside Robin’s. She turned to him with a wolfish smile.

“Let’s do this.”

She suddenly closed her eyes and her body started to form. Brown, chestnut hair formed on her skin and whiskers protruded onto her cheeks. Her ears extended upwards and grew points with fur growing rapidly on them. Her body started to shrink and suddenly she was gone and the clothes she was wearing was in a pile at Remus’ feet. 

The clothes moved and out of them bounced a chestnut brown calico cat with bright green eyes. She's was a bit bigger than most average feline's, but she looked like any normal cat. Remus smiled and picked her up, petting her fur and making her purr.

“Let’s go, Mittens.”

Mittens meowed and squirmed out of Remus’ arms. She bounded down to Remus feet. Remus walked out into the living room and opened the front door. The two of them started walking down the street, breathing in the morning fresh air.

Remus checked his watch to see that it was six in the morning.  _ I have three hours until the meeting with the Rossbury’s. _

Remus and Robin loved going on walks. As little kids they loved exploring the countryside where they had grown up. It always helped calm them both down after stressful days, and whenever Remus had gotten sick because of the full moon.

That was why Robin had made the decision to become an animagus. She had always feared for her brother and wanted to be with him when he was transforming. Remus hated what he was, but it was made easier when his friends all became animagus’. Sirius was a black dog and they gave him the nickname of Padfoot, James was Prongs as a Stag, Peter was Wormtail as a Rat, and Robin was Mittens as a Cat. Marlene, Lily, and Jeannette didn't ever find out that Remus was a werewolf right away. Marlene accidentally found out on a date Sirius, when he showed up late after dealing with Remus on the full moon. Lily didn't find out until after Hogwarts, when the boys had needed to find a place for Remus to transform. And Jeannette found out in seventh year, after confronting Remus about it. She had figured it out by reading up on the side effects and she put two and two together. Remus had been so surprised when Jeannette had met him in the hospital ward with a bar of chocolate and a sympathetic smile. That's the moment that Remus fell for her, through and through. 

Mittens and Remus had been walking through the neighborhood for a while when they started to walk back. The sun was fully over the hills on the horizon and Remus’ clock read seven twenty. They were just passing the neighbors house, the Dursley’s, when the front door opened and slammed shut. Remus paused, slightly hidden by the bushes in front of the white fence. He watched as the boy, Harry, dragged a heaping bag full of garbage into the can on the curb. He didn’t see Remus, but Mittens had padded forward, leaped up onto the fence and meowed at Harry.

Harry turned, slightly startled, but his face relaxed when he saw Mittens. She meowed again and Harry chuckled before petting her carefully and gently. Remus decided to walk forward before Petunia Dursley would ruin the moment.

“Hullo there.” Remus greeted.

Harry flinched and looked up to see Remus. He paled but tried to regain his posture.

“Hullo, is this your cat? I’m sorry-”

“No, no, you’re fine, there’s no need to apologize. I was just taking her out on a walk this fine morning.” Remus said, watching as the panic seeped off of Harry’s face.

“You take your cat on  _ walks _ ?” Harry asked, petting Mittens again.

“She’s a weird cat, likes to roam the neighborhoods, so I just join her.” Remus said with a chuckle.

Harry giggled and petted her a few more times.

“What’s her name?”

“Mittens, and what’s yours?”

“I’m Harry, you?” Harry asked, pushing his glasses further up his nose.

“Remus, Remus Lupin-”

He was suddenly interrupted by a shriek. Petunia was at the door and bounded forth, pulling Harry away from Mittens and Remus. Mittens growled at the woman, who paled at seeing the cat.

“What are you doing, boy?!” She demanded.

“It was my fault-” Remus said, but was interrupted.

“I know you!” She shrieked, pushing Harry inside and closing the door on him. She rounded around to Remus and pointed a sharp finger in his face.

“Don’t you  _ dare _ infect us with your  _ madness _ . We don’t want your kind anywhere near us!”

“Too bad, Petunia, we live next door.” Remus muttered with a smirk.

She paled and looked frantically around.

“Don’t talk to us ever again, you hear me?!” She warned, slamming the front door behind her.

Remus picked up Mittens and walked up to their own home. Robin bounded out of Remus’ arms and transformed. Remus was glad she was able to remember how to keep her clothes attached when she morphed back, the first few times were horrifying.

“Remus, we  _ need _ to get him out of there.” Robin muttered, grinding her teeth unpleasantly.

“I agree, this is the last straw for me.” Remus muttered, pacing in the doorway. 

The fire suddenly roared to life and Marlene stepped through, instantly scrunching her brow at the sight before her.

“What’s going on?” She asked.

“Harry, I’m done waiting and running in circles for Dumbledore, I  _ need _ to get him.” Robin seethed.

“It’s funny, because Dumbledore is on his way here…” Marlene muttered as the fireplace roared again and Dumbledore stepped through.

“I’m gonna go grab Astrid so she’s not late to Molly’s.” Marlene said, excusing herself.

Dumbledore smiled at Robin and Remus, but he didn’t get any in response.

“You two seem to be in the need to talk to me.” He stated. “I was only dropping by because of your meeting with the Rossbury’s.”

“Dumbledore I can’t do this anymore; I need Harry.” Robin bluntly said.

“I’ve told you before-”

“I know about the damn bloody protection Lily put on him! But don’t you see? It’s Petunia Dursley! Lily never got along with her! She would only use her as a last option! There’s got to be another way-”

“I’m here to apologize, Mrs. Black-”

“I thought we agreed no one would call me that.” Robin snapped.

“Robbi, calm down-” Remus butted in.

“No! What are you apologizing for?!” She demanded Dumbledore.

He sighed and folded his hands together.

“I am here to apologize because I made a mistake. I was looking into Harry’s situation and I had wanted to personally come by, when I was rejected at the doorstep. I made my way into their fireplace and I watched them torment Harry over something he did wrong. I felt horrible for realizing the mess I put the poor boy through.

“So I looked into the magic that Lily had put around Harry. I started thinking and analyzing on how Harry could still be safe if he was away from the Dursley's. I put a disillusionment charm over myself and I found Harry and did a check on him with some spells I know.”

He paused and smiled at Remus and Robin.

“I realized that there is another magical protection charm on the boy that was somehow hidden to me the last time I checked on him. I realized where it was tethered to, it’s tethered to your old home, Robin.”

Robin gaped at Dumbledore, a look mixed between shock and happiness. Remus smiled and looked at Robin.

“Does that mean Robin can take in Harry?”

“Yes, but the protection won’t be as strong since, er well, the protection was meant to be tethered to Sirius in the house.”

Robin shuddered and looked away.

“But it can still work, right?” Remus asked, wrapping an arm around Robin.

“Yes, it can still work.”

Robin was smiling like someone had just handed her the moon and stars. Remus beamed at his sister as she started to dance in place and cheer. At that point, Marlene came down the stairs with Astrid and Lynn in tow. Astrid had her little bag filled with school supplies.

“Mommy, what’s wrong?” Astrid asked as Marlene seemed to piece the puzzle together, sending a smile Remus’ way.

“Nothing! Nothing’s wrong!” Robin cheered, looking at her daughter with a smile on her face.

Astrid smiled at her mom, about to ask a question, but bit her lip. She recovered the motion with a quirk of her lips. She was going to ask if it was related to her dad, but she realized her mom would be in tears or angry with her if it was about Sirius.

“I want to hear about this later!” Marlene said, pointing at Remus with a raised brow.

Remus nodded his head at her and smiled at Robin once more. Marlene and Astrid disappeared through the fireplace to The Burrow.

“When can we have him? When can we move in?” Robin asked Dumbledore quickly.

“You can move in whenever. I haven’t sent anyone in to clear it out, I figured you might want to yourself, Robin.” Dumbledore said, smiling a sad smile at her.

Robin’s smile faded, but stayed on her face slightly.

“Alright, when can we have Harry?” She asked.

“I am waiting to see when his accidental magic fully flares up. He’s shown small signs of it recently, but I want to see if an incident will arise when we have an excuse to swoop in and take him.” Dumbledore explained.

Robin furrowed her brow at this but nodded her head.

“That makes sense, we will move in as soon as we can.” Remus said, shaking Dumbledore’s hand.

“And if things go alright with this meeting, Remus, I have the legal papers in my office waiting for you.” Dumbledore said with a wink.

Remus beamed once again as he felt Lynn hug his side as she sidled up next to him.

“What’s going on, dad?” She asked innocently.

“We are about to have a meeting with your adoptive parents, darling, would you mind waiting in your room while we all talk about grown up things?” Remus said, looking down at the girl.

Lynn smiled up at him and nodded her head.

“I have some breakfast for you, Lynn, just wait here at the table while I fix it.” Robin said, taking a hold of Lynn’s hand and pulling her into the kitchen.

Remus watched his daughter go and smiled at Dumbledore.

“Thank you, for making this all possible.” Remus thanked.

“No problem, Remus, I am sorry for not realizing the extra protection on young Harry and didn’t immediately hand him over to Robin. I know she went through a lot.”

Remus nodded and accepted his apology.

“I have something to say though, I hope you don’t get offended,” Dumbledore carefully said.

Remus scrunched up his brow and nodded for him to continue.

“I have a theory that Sirius was actually innocent.”

Remus scrunched up his brow.

“What?”

“I believe that Sirius is innocent because I was looking through my memories, and I recalled that there was a memory gone. It was right after James, Lily, and Sirius came to talk to me. I believe they must have changed their secret keeper.” Dumbledore slowly explained.

“ _ What _ ?! They would have told me-”

“That’s the thing about secret keepers, Remus, it must be a secret from everyone; even others you trust.”

“Well who would it have been, then?” Remus asked, slightly annoyed at the thought.

He had been angry with Sirius for ten years. He blamed every bad thing to happen to him on Sirius, and now to come find out, it might be someone else’s fault? This would take a lot of rethinking and delving into.

“I don’t know, I might be wrong about this, Remus. I have no clue as to who it could have been.” Dumbledore shrugged.

“So it could be  _ anyone _ . Great…” Remus muttered.

“I don’t know if I’m right though, Remus, I may be wrong about the whole thing and it really was Sirius who betrayed James and Lily that night.”

Remus’ blood still boiled at the memory of seeing James, dead on the stairway and Lily crumbled in a heap at the foot of Harry’s crib. When Lily had brought Harry home, a few days after he was born, she had been cradling him in her pale arms with so much love and care, that it blew Remus away. 

She had looked up and carefully handed Harry into James arms. James’ smirk had fallen right off his face and was instantly replaced with a look of so much shock and maturity, Remus had to sit down. James was no longer a silly school boy playing pranks on Slytherins, he was a husband and a dad.

Remus had felt that responsibility a few weeks before James had, when Jean came back from the hospital with baby Lynn. He had been so awestruck, he continually held her for two days. It took a lot of convincing to get him to let her go so that Jean could see to and feed her.

“I’m sorry for bringing this subject up,” Dumbledore apologized, “I only wanted to discuss this with you and see if you had any theories.”

Remus shook his head. 

“No, I have none.”

  
  


~~~X~~~

  
  


“For the last time, Mrs. Rossbury, no, I do not have any criminal records!” Remus explained, trying to stay calm.

“Well you lot are sketchy enough as it is.” Karen Rossbury muttered, folding her hands over the table in a delicate position.

Remus hid a scowl and let Robin do the talking.

“No, we are not criminals. We do not sell any illegal muggle products. We do not steal our food and clothes. Yes, we have jobs; I am a Ministry worker in the adoptive services, and Remus works full time during the fall, winter, and spring seasons in a bookstore. We have a schooling plan all set out for Lynnette if she is going to stay with us. And, we are moving in the next few days to a bigger home to give to Lynnette and my own daughter.”

Karen and Bill exchanged glances and continued to stare down the two in front of them.

“What’s a ‘Ministry Worker’?” Bill asked.

“The Ministry is just like your Muggle government. I work in the adoptive services where we deal with mostly cases just like Lynnette, who are living in muggle homes and need to be removed.”

“Now you look here-” Karen exclaimed, standing up abruptly.

“I am just speaking the truth, Mrs. Rossbury. You  _ abused _ your daughter. That goes against muggle laws in law enforcement, and in the adoption center you adopted Lynn from. It says in the papers that you specifically signed.” Robin said, going into her Ministry working mode.

Karen’s face was beet red as she quickly sat back down.

“And also, in my working position, I am under the rules that if a witch or wizard is in an environment where they are being abused at all, or about their magical abilities, we are fully qualified to come in and take the child out.”

They both paled at Robin’s sharp words.

“We could have gotten into a stickier mess, Mr. and Mrs. Rossbury. We could have had the muggle adoption center and the rest of my work team involved; even both police networks if needed.

“Any more questions?” Robin asked.

They were both quiet for a second before Karen spoke up again.

“What job experience have you had in the past, Mr. Lupin?”

Remus bit down his anger and kept a cool facade as he listed his jobs off.

“I’ve worked in many positions. I worked overseas in France with jobs related to the war effort in getting rid of the evil left behind. That job died down after the chaos of the war did as well. I ended up going to Bulgaria and working as a representative for the British wizarding government and made sure that the usual dark arts practiced there were under control; I worked there a year and a half. 

“I did smaller jobs, working in muggle pastry shops, clothing stores, restaurants, even in several muggle intern opportunities. I’ve had a lot of work experience and my father’s fortune that was handed down to me has been sustainable for the past ten years. 

“Right now, I am working in a wizarding book store and also studying Defence Against the Dark Arts more so that I have a concept of it and how to defend one’s self from it. I want the position at Hogwarts school as the Defence teacher, and I am studying the subject more so that I can be liable for the job opening.”

He could tell that Karen and Bill were actually  _ impressed _ with him. He smiled at them, trying to hide the smugness. Robin smiled as well and pulled out some papers from her office.

“These are our adoption papers; if you agree to hand over Lynn to her blood father you must sign here, here, and here,” Robin said, pointing with her transfigured pen at different blanks.

Bill looked up at Remus one last time before taking the pen.

“You promise to take care of her?”

Remus tried his best not to look surprised at the question coming out of the muggle’s mouth.

“Yes, yes I do.”

“It may seem like we didn’t care for Lynnette, but we really did. I see our mistakes now, through different lenses, and I daresay that she deserves someone better than us to care and love on her.” Bill admitted.

He took the pen from Robin and signed his name in the different areas. He passed it to Karen who signed it as well, after a hesitancy. Remus smiled and looked down at the papers.  _ It is official, she’s mine again _ .

He could have leaped and jumped for joy, but he kept calm and shook Bill’s hand. He signed the muggle paperwork as well. Robin and her team had been able to get the muggle process up quicker so that it didn’t end up being months of waiting and processing the papers and the legalities.

They all stood up as it was finished, and Remus and Robin showed the muggles to the fireplace. Remus threw in the powder into the fireplace and called out their street address. They nodded their heads at the two siblings before disappearing through the flames. 

Remus and Robin slowly faced each other. As they made eye contact they squealed with delight and started hugging each other frantically.

“We did it! We did it! It’s done!” They both exclaimed.

“Now, next is moving into the house, clearing that out, and getting Harry next.” Remus said in a cheery tone.

Robin beamed at her brother and hugged him once more.

“Why don’t you go show Lynn!” Robin said, enthusiastically.

Remus beamed like the sun. He grabbed the adoption papers and ran up to her room, skipping steps as he did. He calmed himself down some as he walked up to her door and knocked three times. She timidly answered and opened the door. Remus hid the papers behind his back.

“I’ve got something to show you.” He said, trying to dim his smile down.

“What is it?” She asked, a little scared.

_ She won’t be scared for long. _

Remus allowed his wide smile to take over his face. He pulled the papers out and handed them to Lynn.

“It’s official; I’m legally your dad now.”

Lynn was frozen in her seat, staring down at the papers. Remus was suddenly terrified;  _ what if she didn’t actually want to be my daughter…  _

Suddenly she leaped forward into Remus’ arms. It was so unexpected, that Remus toppled over onto the bed behind him. Lynn was giggling and full out laughing as she squeezed his chest tightly.

“Is that a good response? Are you actually trying to kill me right now to get out of it?” Remus asked, half serious.

“Yes! Yes! Yes! It’s  _ definitely _ a good response!” She cheered.

Remus’ heart lighten and his stomach flipped with joy.

“You’re being serious though, right? Mom and dad aren’t setting you up and they are going to take me back-” Lynn muttered, sitting back and staring at him.

“Of course not! That would be evil!” Remus exclaimed, grabbing the papers again. “These are one hundred percent real.”

Lynn sat beside Remus and traced her hand lightly across Remus’ signature.

“It’s actually real,” she breathed out, turning to Remus. “You’re my daddy.”

Remus almost cried on the spot. Lynn hugged him again, this time more enduring and less squeezing guts out. Remus cradled Lynn’s head with his giant hand.    
Robin had crept up the st airs and gazed with a bright smile at the sight.  _ Finally,  _ she thought as she quietly crept back down the stairs,  _ my brother is finally happy again. _

  
  


~~~X~~~

  
  


Lynnette peaked her eyes open as the sun shone over her eyes. Her lips widened into a smile as she sat up and stretched. She was up earlier this morning. Today she was going to meet her new teacher and her new classmates. She wasn’t going to be doing any lessons today, just going over little details and meeting with everyone and the environment.

She had been officially adopted for two days now. Lynn hopped off of her bed and ran towards her closet. The day before, Robin and Marlene had taken her shopping after work for some good school clothes. Of course it was muggle apparel, they claimed she wouldn’t need wizarding robes for a while.

They had bought sweaters, t shirts, jeans, and shoes. Karen and Bill hadn’t really given Lynn a choice in the clothes that they bought for her. So she really enjoyed this shopping trip with her brand new aunt and godmother. 

She opened her closet and pulled out a grey sweater, that was similar to Remus’, and a pair of jeans. Even though it was March, the weather in England was still frightfully cold. 

She brushed her hair out and smiled at her reflection. She was excited and nervous all at the same time. She flung open her door at the same time as Astrid. They both squealed and ran towards each other, embracing one another in a huge hug.

“I’m so excited, Lynn!” Astrid exclaimed as they ran down the stairs together.

“I know! I’m  _ so _ excited! I’ve never liked school, but that was because of the bullies.” Lynn said as they reached the bottom of the stairs. 

Some mornings, Rami would join them for breakfast, just casually sitting and waiting for the girls to come so they could talk about the day. This was one of those mornings. Rami beamed at Lynn and hugged her as they gathered around the table.

“Today’s the day, Lynny!” Rami said, drumming his fingers on the table.

“Lynny? Couldn’t you think of anything better?” Lynn said, rolling her eyes and chuckling at Rami.

“I don’t know, it seemed catchy. When a nickname is catchy, that serves its purpose.” Rami explained, smirking as he did so.

The girls laughed and continued to eat their breakfast as the grownups entered the kitchen. Remus got a mug of coffee and patted Lynn’s head as he sat down beside her. He smiled and took a sip. He could feel the tiredness from the coming full moon starting to get at him. It was horrible timing, since he had just gotten his daughter back.

“You excited for today?” Remus asked her as she took a bite of her toast.

“Yeah! I’m nervous though as well…” She murmured.

“Don’t be!” Rami exclaimed, “You have us! And there’s not a lot of other kids, and they are all nice!”

“Yeah, you’re going to love it, Lynn!” Astrid encouraged, patting her arm and taking a bite of her eggs.

“Yeah, you’ve got this, darling. And Molly is very nice, she will make you feel comfortable.” Remus said, wrapping an arm around her.

Lynn beamed at everyone around her.

“Thank you.” She murmured.

Marlene appeared suddenly from the fireplace as they all finished their breakfast.

“Is everyone ready?” She asked.

Remus stood up and took a hold of Lynn’s hand. He squeezed it and smiled down at her as she squeezed back.

“Yeah.” Rami and Astrid said in unision.

“Alright, let’s go, we don’t want to be late!” Marlene said, motioning for everyone to follow her.

Lynn watched anxiously as she grabbed the Floo dust and took a hold of little Irabella’s hand. She stood up straight and yelled,

“The Burrow!”

They disappeared and Rami and Astrid took their place. They hesitantly took each other’s hand. Astrid had won an arm wrestle against Rami for who got to shout the destination, so Astrid yelled exactly what Marlene had. 

After they disappeared, Remus nudged Lynn forward and they stood in the fireplace. Remus took some powder and smiled down at Lynn.

“Don’t worry, Lynnette. It’ll be alright, and if you ever need something, you can always ask Molly for anything or ask her to call me.”

“Thank you, daddy.”Lynn said in a quiet voice.

She always found herself smiling whenever she said that. Bill hadn’t ever really connected that well with her in the past. So it was nice to call Remus her dad and see him smile like someone just handed him the world.

“You’re welcome, darling.” He replied and shouted ‘The Burrow’ before throwing down the powder.

They suddenly appeared in a wooden little house. Lynn looked around in admiration as she observed the walls covered in portraits and little knick-knacks. There was a clock on the wall with pictures of several red headed people. Suddenly her attention was caught on a short red haired woman with a beaming smile.

“Hullo Remus! What a long time it’s been!” The woman greeted Remus, opening her arms out for a hug.

“Hullo, Molly. It’s great to see you again.” He greeted as well, smiling down at her.

“And this must be the infamous Lynnette!” Molly exclaimed, turning to Lynn with a wide smile. “Hullo, Lynnette, I am Molly Weasley. You can call me Mrs. Weasley, like the others do.”

Lynn shook Molly’s hand and smiled up at her.

“It’s nice to meet you too, Mrs. Weasley.”

“Why don’t you come on out onto the back porch and meet everyone!” She said, motioning for them to follow.

Lynn nervously walked forward and watched as Molly opened the sliding glass door to reveal a few children all running around and talking vibrantly.

“Children! Please, gather around here, if you would.” Molly yelled, directing the kids their way.

The kids stopped what they were doing and gathered in front of Molly.

“Kids, I want you to meet Mr. Remus Lupin and his daughter, Lynnette Lupin. Lynnette will be joining us this remainder of the year!” Molly introduced, waving her hand at Remus and Lynn as she went.

Lynn found Astrid and Rami and smiled as they smiled back.

“Lynnette, you already know Astoria and Romulus,” Molly said, “I would like you to meet my son, Ronald and my daughter Ginevra.”

“Mum!” A read headed boy exclaimed. “You don’t have to use our full names!”

“Sorry dear, it’s polite.” Molly said.

Ronald rolled his eyes and extended his hand to Lynn. He had flaming red hair and bright blue eyes.

“I’m Ron, Ron Weasley. Can I call you Lynn?”

“It’s nice to meet you Ron, and yeah sure!” Lynn said, feeling a smile crawl on her face.

A short red headed girl walked forward. She had a bright smile on her face and her hair was messed and strangely around her face. She also had the same bright blue eyes.

“I’m Ginny, Ginny Weasley.”

A boy with a round face and a shy persona about him extended his hand forward as well.

“I-I’m Neville, Neville Longbottom.”

“Hi Neville, it’s good to meet you!” Lynn greeted, shaking the boy’s hand.

A girl with wispy, white blonde hair extended her hand too, who was standing beside Ginny.

“I’m Luna Lovegood, did you know you have a lot of Warblejackers around you right now?”

“Wh-What’s that?” Lynn asked, a little terrified.

“Nervous energy,” Ginny explained, “she uses her own words for such things, don’t be alarmed if she says a word you don’t know.”

Lynn nodded her head and smiled still.

“Now, children, we are going to get started and Lynnette here is going to sit in on the classes for the day.” Molly said in her motherly tone. 

The kids all groaned and followed Molly inside the house. Remus draped an arm around Lynn’s shoulder and smiled down at her. 

“Are you going to be alright?” He asked in his light, calming tone. 

“Yeah,” Lynn muttered, looking up at him, “I think I'll be alright.”

“Good, I best be off, I have to work at the shop today. After school, Marlene is going to be picking you guys up and she will drop you off there and maybe I can show you around the shop some.” Remus offered with a waiting smile. 

He had seen Lynn’s little book collection when her clothes and stuff arrived. He and Jean had  _ loved _ books, that's one of the reasons they stayed close friends. He was enthralled that they had both passed the book-loving gene on to Lynn. 

“That sounds awesome!” Lynn said joyously, beaming up at Remus. “I would love to see the book store!”

“Great, now go and join everyone else, okay? I'll see you then.” Remus said, hugging her goodbye. 

She waved at him and ran into the house as he apparated away to work. Lynn nervously stood in the doorway as the chairs and tables were positioned in a classroom like setting. Ginny, who was seated beside Luna, pulled up an extra chair and motioned for her to join. Astrid was seated behind the girls and was also motioning for her to sit down next to them. 

Lynn smiled and slowly but surely, she walked over and sat down next to Astrid and behind Ginny and Luna. The two girls whirled around and smiled up at Lynn. 

“So where are you from?” Ginny asked immediately. 

“I'm from America, California to be specific.” Lynn stuttered, a little nervous by the question. 

“Really? I like your accent!” Ginny said enthusiastically. 

“I like yours.” Lynn said back out of an instinct. 

“How do you like moving in with your dad again?” Luna dreamily asked. 

Lynn froze and stared at Luna as if she had a third eye. 

“How did you know that?”

“You're about as famous as Harry Potter! Of course everyone knows!” Ginny exclaimed. 

“Harry Potter?” Lynn asked. 

“The boy-who-lived? You don't know the story?” Ginny asked. 

“No, I just moved in and found out about the wizarding world three days ago.” Lynn shyly admitted. 

“Well, the story goes that You-Know-Who, a mean wizard, was out killing innocent people. He didn't like Harry Potter’s parents and decided to kill them. Well, your mum was there with them that night along with you, and er….” Ginny muttered. 

“I know what happened; he killed my mom.” Lynn gravelly said. 

“Er, yeah, he did that, and as he killed her you were hidden underneath some of the fallen roof that had come down when the mean wizard sent a spell at her. He didn't even notice you, you were so quiet and he moved forward and, er, killed Mrs. Potter. He was going to kill Harry, but then the spell somehow bounced back and killed him instead.”

“How is that possible?” Lynn asked, in awe of the story. “Why wasn't I crying?”

“No one knows how or why. My mum said-” But she was interrupted by Molly. 

“Quiet now! We are going to be reading the history books today about some muggle stories and how the wizarding world avoided them.”

It was very interesting to hear all the stories that Lynn had started learning and how the wizarding world lived through it. Especially the World Wars. It was comical to learn that witches and wizards could have easily helped out the war effort. It was an even bigger wonder to learn that the reasoning behind The Battle of Dunkirk was because a wizard soldier was so fed up, he  _ obliviated _ Hitler. 

Lynn was the only one to really understand the hilariousness of this and was laughing. Ginny, Astrid, and Rami questioned her at lunch and also were in tears of laughter. 

Lynn had so much fun learning the beginners basics of Runes and Potions and Herbology. It was fun learning different and new types of plants and seeing Molly demonstrating simple potions for them. 

By the end of the school day, Lynn was disappointed, surprisingly, that she had to say goodbye. But she was excited to actually start classes the next day and get homework and read the text with everyone. 

Marlene Apparated in, as well as a blonde man who was just as quirky as Luna was and an older woman, chastising poor Neville about something. Before Marlene gathered Astrid, Rami, and Lynn together, Ginny and Luna attacked Lynn in a huge hug. 

“You're one of us now!” They exclaimed. 

Lynn had never felt more proud and excited in her life. 

After Marlene dropped her off at the bookstore, where Remus was managing for the day, she sat up on the counter, eating a pastry from a little pastry shop down the road in Hogsmeade, and rattled on to Remus about her day. He laughed at her realization about Hitler and shared more, quirky funny stories to do with muggles. 

That ended up with Remus talking about his days in experiencing the muggle world. He would pause every now and then whenever Sirius was brought up in the story and change the story up a bit.    
He re told a story about ho w he, Lily Potter, James Potter, Sirius Black, and Robin went to a muggle rock concert. He tried to keep a calm facade as he talked about how Sirius had grown up the nerve to get his ears pierced and walked around with crazy looking lightning bolt earrings in his ears. 

Lynn looked up from her pastry and smiled a knowing smile. 

“Daddy, what  _ really _ happened to Uncle Sirius?”

Remus froze and stared at his daughter. 

“Why did you call him that?”

“Well he  _ is  _ my uncle, isn't he?” Lynn asked, a little shyly. 

“Technically, yes, yes he is.”

“What happened?” Lynn quietly asked. 

Remus couldn't speak. He hadn't told or spoken of the truth of that night in so long. He sometimes felt it was a terrible nightmare that never happened, but then he would find something of Sirius’ or see Astrid smile and Robin cry and he wanted to punch something. 

“He made a very bad decision, darling.”

Lynn could see the hurt in her father’s eyes, and decided not to push too forward. 

“You were close with him though, weren't you?”

“Yeah, he was one of my best mates.” Remus said, trying to smile, despite the lump in his throat. 

“I'm sorry, daddy.” She murmured, patting his hand. “Want to hear a story about how Neville face planted in the grass today at lunch?” She asked, innocently. 

Remus smiled and continued to do his work and listened to Lynnette babble on. 

  
  


~~~X~~~

  
  


It was a weekend when Robin and Remus decided to head down to the old house and clear it out. They had named it the Better Black House, since everyone knew the Black House was Grimmauld Place, and that bad things were tagged there. 

Robin had  _ loved  _ the house and had begged Sirius to get it. He got it because it was so close to the Potter’s and he had an excuse to come over and see ‘his favorite godson’. Robin loved it, because she could get some except use and walk over instead of apparating and being scared of splinching the baby when she was pregnant with Astrid. 

Now, Robin stared up at the run down house with disgust and fear. Remus placed a hand on her shoulder and they slowly faced the house together. The first thing they did when they walked inside was to do a quick renovating charm. 

They renovated the walls and cleaned up all the moss and weeds that had grown in through the windows and floorboards. Robin couldn't look in any of the bedrooms, because she would break down, and sent Remus to clear them out. 

He tried really hard not to get sidetracked, but he kept finding little items and things that reminded him of old times. He bit his tongue when he found the old pictures and photo albums of Sirius and Robin when they would go out on dates and hang out as a group together. 

A part of him  _ really _ wanted to burn the pictures and pretend they never happened. But he stopped himself when he saw the innocent, care free smile on Sirius’ face in a picture of himself and Sirius. They looked so  _ happy _ . 

_ Astrid would want to see these some day _ . He thought to himself.  _ Despite Robin and my thoughts, he's her father and she would want to know.  _

He picked the album up and some of the picture frames and put them in one of the bottomless bags Robin had in her old closet. He started piling stuff together and setting them aside, assuaging his need to remember his old friend. He found Astrid’s old room that had once been newly decorated. He took some of the photos and little odds and ends and set them aside for Robin, knowing she would want them. 

He shrunk the bigger furniture items they wouldn't want throughout the house and went outside and destroyed them. He and Robin did some cleaning spells on the walls and floors until they started to sparkle. They had gotten some new flooring and painting spells and went through the rooms and re did everything. 

After a few hours, Remus walked in one of the back rooms and found Robin hunched over something. He peeked over and paled; it was her engagement ring. 

“You know what he said to me? That night?” She murmured through tears spilling down her cheeks, “he said, ‘Mittens, I've loved you ever since I saw you, even when I didn't even realize it! I have always loved you and I will  _ continue  _ to love you.’” She paused and let a sob out slowly, 

“He was so sincere, Rem! He  _ loved  _ me! Why would he do that to us? To me? To his newly born  _ daughter?!  _ I don't understand, Remus! I don't. Bloody. Understand!” She shrieked, hitting her foot against a wall. 

Remus tried to pull her back, but she had kicked a hole in the walls and was sobbing and screaming at the same time. Remus realized there were tears streaming down his own face. 

“It doesn't make sense, Rem, it really doesn't. I want him back, dammit! I want my old Sirius back.”

Remus and Robin just sat there and cried. It felt like hours of just crying and holding each other. They finally finished and before Robin could scurry away, he remembered what Dumbledore had mentioned to him. 

“Robi?” He asked, pulling her back, “do you still hate him?”

She looked confused by this, but her face soothed and she looked tired and worn. 

“No, no matter I convince myself to think, I don't think I could still be so mad that I hate him. I hate that I still love him though.” She moped. 

“Do you think he did it? Like do you think he's actually innocent?”

She looked surprised at this. 

“Sometimes; like how could Sirius Black, who ran away from his Death Eater family, be one of His followers? It doesn't make any sense, especially since James was a literal brother to him.”

She paused and stared at him suspiciously. 

“Why are you asking?”

“Dumbledore made a comment that he was looking through some of his memories and he realized that the memory of discussing the Potter’s secret keeper had been split in two and he thinks he was obliviated or something. Maybe they switched the secret keeper behind our backs and Dumbledore helped officiate it and was obliviated in the process.”

“What do you think?” She asked, really looking at him. 

“I don't know what to think. I can't think of anyone else James would have switched with as a secret keeper.” Remus muttered. 

“Yeah, it could have been anyone, but we don't have any proof…” Robin said. 

“We could ask around…” 

“I don't want to rush anything,” Robin muttered. “I'm still getting over this emotion. Maybe I'll think about it, but I don't know…”

“You don't want to confront him at all.” Remus pointed out. 

She just glared at Remus. 

“I don't want to see what Azkaban has done to him. If he truly is evil, I don't want to see him insult me-” she stopped and put a hand to her mouth to stop from crying again. 

“Okay, I won't rush you.” Remus muttered softly, pulling her into one last hug. 

“Thanks Rem.” She muttered. 

They were in good spirits as they observed the clean house before them. It was as nice as it once had been. Remus couldn't wait to move Lynn and Astrid in and to see the glory of the big house be used for what it had originally been planned for. 

They apparated home and Robin and Marlene started on cooking as the kids rattled on about their school day. Remus took Astrid aside as Lynn and Rami were telling a story about Neville tripping again. 

Astrid was confused, as her uncle never really talked with her one on one that much. They had gone upstairs and were sitting on Astrid’s blanket, that was covered in stitchings of quaffles and snitches. 

“What is it, Uncle Remus?” She asked timidly. 

“I have something for you, something that you cannot show your mother.”

He pulled out of the bottomless bag, the photo album and a black leather jacket. Her eyes widened as she stared in awe at the items on Remus’ lap. He flipped it open and positioned himself so that she could look at the pictures too. 

The first picture was of Remus’ first year. He smiled as he looked at the moving picture of himself, James, Sirius, and Peter all smiling at the camera in the Gryffindor common room. 

“You're dad was Sorted into Gryffindor, along with the rest of us.” Remus said. “He was the first Black to do so; as all of them were Slytherins.”

Astrid was silent as he flipped the pages and would tell a story that went along with each one. One picture of Sirius with Marlene when they used to awkwardly date (which Astrid laughed manically at). One picture of Sirius and Remus making faces at one another. Another of a party after a Quidditch match and Sirius was twirling Robin in the midst of the crowd. There was even the picture of their graduating day and the beach day they did the day after they came home from school. 

Astrid loved it. She was in awe of how much she looked like her dad. Remus was glad that he had decided to show her this. They came to a picture where Sirius was wearing the leather jacket and posing by his motorbike. 

“Is this,” Astrid picked up the jacket Remus had strung out, “his jacket?!”

“Yup, he loved that jacket; it was like a part of him.” Remus said with a smile. 

She grabbed it and held it up to her face. Her eyes welled up with tears and she looked up at her uncle. 

“Did he smell like this?”

Remus took a sniff and hundreds of memories of embracing Sirius in a hug or embrace came to the surface. He nodded his head and let Astrid pull it on. Of course it was too large for her, but she was enthralled with the fact that her father had once wore this jacket and loved it. 

“Why did you do this? Don't you hate him too? Like mum?” Astrid asked defensively. 

“No, I don't hate him. I don't really know what to think…”

“Please, tell me what happened.” Astrid whined. 

“I will tell you this much; he did something horrible and was sent away for what he did. It was a confusing time with so many conflicts and horrible things that happened. We are sorting through some things and emotions at the moment; just let your mum sort through them, okay Astrid?” Remus explained, putting a hand on her shoulder. 

Her eyes were filled with tears, but she nodded. 

“Thank you, Uncle Moony.”

“You haven't called me that in years.” He smirked and rustled her hair. “Hide that, okay? Don't want your mum hunting me down.”

Astrid nodded her head as Remus stepped out of the room. 

Remus sighed and shut the door behind him.  _ That was for you Sirius, if you’re really innocent.  _


	5. Chapter 4: The "Harry" Predicament

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Remus and Robin try and plan a way to get Harry back, but will Vernon and Petunia make it easy for them?

**Chapter 4: The “Harry” Predicament**

_ No pun intended hehehe _

 

It had been months later (three to be exact) of the mixed Lupin family to warm up to the Black Estate House. Robin was ecstatic to have her old home back, and she was slowly but surely pushing past the old memories of the place. She even had told Astrid a few light hearted stories, some of them involving Sirius, but was mostly about the other Marauders and Lily and Jeannette.

Astrid was ecstatic to be there; she had found the attic where Remus had stored some of Sirius’ personal belongings. There were so many boxes stacked high up to the ceiling, but Astrid wasn't allowed to dive into all of them. Remus allowed her to see some of the stuff, but he put his foot down that Astrid should really look through that stuff with her mother. But Remus had put the attic door under a spell that needed a key word, which was given to her in secret.

They didn’t officially move into the Black Estate House, Robin had to stay for a certain amount of time in order to awaken the spell put on the house more. Marlene, Andy, Rami, and Irabella had moved into the Little Whinging house  with Remus for a few months to make it not as noticeable of the change that had transpired. 

When school got out and the summer began, Lynn, Rami, and Astrid all hung out in Little Whinging quite often. They liked the Black Estate, or hanging out with the Weasley’s better, but they were on a mission. A very important one given by the grown ups: try and figure out Harry Potter’s predicament.

They were told that if they ever saw anything happen or heard of something taking place, they were to report immediately to one of the adults. Kids being the kids they were, decided to make it a game. They wanted to become Harry’s friend and gain his trust.

That plan was proved to be a difficult one when they faced a huge problem: Dudley Dursley and the neighborhood bullies. Since Lynn, Astrid, and Rami didn’t go to the same school that the other neighborhood kids went to, they were seen as outcasts, weirdos, whatever awful insult you could think of.

Dudley didn’t like Lynn especially, since whenever he bad mouthed his cousin in any way, she was always there to cause trouble. Like the time that Dudley had smacked Harry across the head after the last day of school and asked where his friends were, Lynn punched him square in the jaw. Petunia had given her glares for weeks, but refused to say anything, since they were one of  _ them _ .

Harry was never out of the house at all. The only time any of the kids saw him was in the mornings when he was doing dishes, cleaning the back porch, trimming the gardens, or planting new plants. Lynn was starting to feel terrible that she couldn’t do anything.

She didn’t want to give up yet, but she was determined to find a way to get to Harry. She felt it was her personal mission, since she had seen the way Dudley and Petunia treated the poor boy.

Lynn had been doing the dishes and had made a game of communicating with Harry when he was busy doing stuff in the kitchen as well.  He would wave at her, always checking if Petunia was looking, and she would wave back. Sometimes, if Petunia wasn’t looking or in the room, Lynn would open the window and toss a cookie or a chunk of bread at Harry through his window so he could sneak it into his large shirt or pants and hide it in his room. Harry didn’t have anything to give back to this kind stranger, but he desperately wanted to do something as a thanks for making sure he didn’t go hungry.

 It was quite the surprise one morning to see a cat leap into the Dursley’s house through the window, giving Harry an opportunity to sneak out into the backyard. The Dursley’s had been eating breakfast as Harry would wiggle his eyebrows at the mystery girl in the neighboring window. They were talking about Dudley’s birthday, skipping over the fact that Harry’s was soon too.

Harry looked up to see the girl staring in awe at the Dursley’s back porch. Harry quickly followed her eyes and gaped at the sight as well. The cat that Harry had seen with the neighbor man, took a giant leap through the kitchen window, right next to Vernon's head. The cat latched onto Vernon's face, causing him to scream loudly and flail his pudgy limbs all over the place. Petunia screamed and tried to get the cat off, but it swung it's claws at her face and hissed. Vernon leaped up from his seat and out the front door with Petunia and a crying Dudley in tow.

Harry, who had finished his chore a while ago, ran out back to where he had his other chore to do. He saw that the black haired, tan skinned boy was perched on the fence along with a light brown haired, dark eyed girl smirking at him. Suddenly, the brown haired, hazel eyed girl from the window peered over the fence with a beaming smile.

“Did you plan that?” Harry asked as he climbed the fence to talk to them.

“Nope, that was seriously mere coincidence.” The tan skinned boy said, extending his hand. “I’m Romulus Fields Mckinnon-Abbott. I prefer Romi Fields though.” 

“Nice to meet you, Romi, that’s an interesting name.” Harry remarked, shaking his hand.

“I was named after my godfather when my dad was killed.” Romi bluntly said. “His name is Remus.”

“I’m Astrid,” the sandy haired girl introduced, “my full name is unavailable, but I go by Astrid Black.”

“I’m Lynnette Lupin, call my Lynn.” The dark haired girl said cheerfully.

“I’m Harry, Harry Potter.” Harry introduced as he shook everyone’s hands.

“We’ve noticed you haven’t been out that much. Why’s that?” Romi asked.

“My aunt and uncle are barny…” Harry muttered.

“We can see that!” Astrid exclaimed, “you should have seen how your aunt freaked out on my uncle, Lynn’s dad.”

“What did she do?” Harry exclaimed in horror.

“She just yelled at him and called him mad.” Astrid shrugged with a scowl on her face.

“Was he that nice man with the cat? Was that his cat that just attacked Aunt Petunia?” Harry asked, his green eyes widening more by the second.

“Really? Uncle Moony has a cat?” Romi asked.

“I didn’t know that…” Lynn muttered.

“Well it must have been someone else then.” Harry muttered.

“Was he wearing a sweater, had some faint scars on his face, and genuinely kind?” Romi asked.

“Er, yeah?” Harry answered.

“Then yes, that’s our uncle Moony.” Romi said with a smile.

“Harry, I don’t think we will have much time, but if you’re ever in a situation where you’re aunt and uncle are just plain cruel, please find a way to communicate with us. We want to help.” Lynn said pleadingly.

“Yeah, we’ve seen how they treat you, and we hate Dudley so…” Astrid trailed.

Harry chuckled.

“Yeah, I don’t like him either, his birthday’s coming up and it seems that they’ve forgotten mine again this year.” Harry found himself saying, instantly whipping his head up to his new friends, ashamed of his selfish comment.

“When’s your birthday?!” They all shouted.

“No it’s fine-”

Suddenly the sound of the Dursley's coming inside warned the kids of what was coming. Harry grabbed a pair of pliers and motioned for the three neighbors to duck. They obeyed and ducked right on time, just avoiding being seen. Harry started trimming the nearest bush.

“Boy, what are you doing?!” Petunia exclaimed.

“I’m trimming.” Harry replied, turning around to look at her.

“And you’re done with the dishes?”  Vernon asked.

“Yeah, didn’t you say I needed to trim the bushes?” Harry asked.

“Why are you starting in the middle?” Petunia asked, puzzled.

“Because,” Harry said, thinking up an excuse, “this one looked like it needed to be done first.” 

Petunia rolled her eyes.

“Whatever, c’mon Vernon, I was going to tell you something.” 

Harry continued to trim the bushes until he was sure they had gone into another room. He leaped onto the fence again and peered over to see the three kids peering up at him. They smiled and their tense faces calmed as they saw him.

“I wish we could hang out, Harry.” Lynn said, her eyes full of emotion.

“It’s fine…” Harry mumbled, a little shocked that anyone would like him enough to want to hang out with him.

“Will I see you next term at school?” Harry asked.

They all smiled, a wickedly mischievous smile.

“Maybe.”

Harry wasn’t as observant as most people, so he definitely did not notice the looks the kids gave each other as he nodded his head.

“I’ll see you around then?” He asked.

“See ya Harry!” They all said as Harry hopped down to continue his work.

The kids all gave each other looks; the owl post season was coming quickly.

  
  


~~~X~~~

  
  
  


_ Thunk thunk thunk. _

Harry blinked his eyes open to hear Aunt Petunia pounding on his door. She was demanding him to get up and help finish breakfast for Dudley's birthday.

He groaned and sat up, pulling the string down to turn on his light. He could hear Dudley stomping down the stairs, purposely, and shouting at Harry to get up. He stood up and lowered his neck so he wouldn’t bang his head. He opened the door to the closet and stepped out. It had been three days since he had been allowed out of the cupboard after Aunt Petunia tried to cut his hair again, and just like the last time, it all grew back in a wild birds nest. He had been sent to the cupboard for three days, only being let out to do the dishes and make breakfast.

He was finally allowed out of the cupboard, but it was only really because of Dudley's birthday and they would need someone to clean up and do stuff for them. No one acknowledged him as he stepped into the kitchen and began making breakfast. He looked up and smiled as he saw Lynn standing in her window. She waved and smiled at him, causing him to do the same back.

He looked over at Dudley who was screaming at Vernon about how many presents he got and rolled his eyes, smiling as Lynn laughed at his facial expression. She grabbed something beside her and Harry realized it was a piece of paper with a message on it.

He glanced over at the table to make sure they were all focused on something else, and turned back to read it.

_**Are you going to the zoo with them today?** _

He nodded his head yes, pleased to see her smile at him. He was only going because Mrs. Figgs wasn't going to be able to babysit him today. She wrote something, and he continued to wash a cup. Petunia called for him to dish them up food, so he signaled to Lynn to wait. 

He grabbed the pan of bacon and eggs and scooped the food onto their plates. He was left with a small helping and scooped himself up some. He came back to the window to eat his food and saw Lynn’s sign.

_**We are going as well! Hope to see you there!** _

Harry smiled at her and nodded his head. Vernon’s loud voice called him away from the window as he finished the last of his bacon.  _ Maybe this day won’t be as bad. _

They all got dressed and hopped into the Dursley’s car. Vernon warned Harry not to cause any trouble before they left, which Harry grudgingly agreed not to be up to any ‘funny business’. 

As they pulled out of the driveway, he saw the man from the other night with the cat get into his car. Harry grinned to himself as the man, Remus by what Romi, Lynn, and Astrid had told him, grinned and waved at Harry and the Dursley's. A woman with light brown hair and green eyes got into the passenger seat. She had a pretty smile, Harry noted as she also waved, almost sarcastically to his amusement. Romi, Lynn, and Astrid got into the back seat after waving comically at Dudley.

“I wonder what those  _ freaks _ are up to today.” Vernon hissed as they pulled out and drove down the street.

Harry clenched his teeth and glared down at his lap as Petunia and Vernon continued to go back and forth about their neighbors.

“Such weirdos, am I right dear?”

“Quite right, love; walking their cats and don’t get me started on the owls that randomly fly by their place! It’s like they are a mad magnet!”

Harry drowned them out and focused on the scenery flashing by. They pulled up to the zoo, and Dudley found some of his friends. The Dursley’s and Dudley’s friends went off and lead the way through some of the many exhibits, but Harry wasn’t really interested. 

He wanted to see his neighbors really badly. He wanted to get away from the Dursley’s and go play with his new friends. His neighbors weren’t mad, they were interesting. 

He liked the kind man’s smile and how his eyes lit up, despite the jagged scars on his face. He hadn’t seen the woman before as much though, but he liked what he saw of her. She seemed just like the man, but with a more vibrant smile. 

The Dursley’s stopped in front of the snake pit as Harry tried to squeeze through to see. He admired the snakes basking in the light pouring into their cage. Dudley tried to get them to move, but he quickly got bored and pulled his friend towards another animal.

Harry stared at the snake and instantly felt bad for it.

“We are much the same, you and I, Mr. Snake; we are caged and locked away from the world.”

He gaped as he suddenly saw the snake sit up and swore it spoke to him.

_ Hello Human boy, if you know my struggle, than you must free me. _

Harry couldn’t speak for a few seconds.

“You can talk?!” 

“Harry!” A voice called.

Harry whipped around and saw Lynn running up to him. She was suddenly embracing him in a huge hug, which shocked him speechless.

“We’ve been looking all over for you! We just checked the lion den, and were about to give up when Romi remembered the reptilian house!” Lynn said in an excited voice.

He looked up and saw the man and woman walking towards him with big smiles on their faces, making them look even more kind in person.

“Harry, this is my dad, Remus Lupin. This is my Aunt Robin Black.” Lynn introduced.

Harry didn’t notice that Robin shuddered slightly at the name ‘Black’, but she smiled and extended her hand to Harry.

“Hullo Harry, it’s nice to meet you.” She said with a grin.

Harry smiled and shook her hand. He looked up and shook Remus’ too.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Harry said, smiling shyly at the two adults.

"How is your cat doing?" Harry asked, concerned for it's well-being after the incident with Vernon.

"She's doing okay, a little emotioanlly scared I believe-" Remus replied, a mischievous smirk on his face.

Suddenly Dudley screamed something and ran towards the snake den. He shoved Harry to get there, who toppled over. Harry groaned and felt his face redden as Robin gasped. He looked up and glared daggers at Dudley.

_ I want something bad to happen to him _ .

Suddenly the glass on the den disappeared and Dudley fell forwards, screaming as he did. He fell into a pool of water. Harry’s brows shot straight upwards and he couldn’t help but grin as Dudley tried scooting away from the snake.

The snake slithered out and faced Harry.

_ Thankssssss _

Harry shook his head up and down violently and watched the snake slither away. Screams erupted as the snake turned a corner. Romi helped Harry up with a grin on his tan face. He turned and smiled as he saw Dudley get up and try to get out, except to find that the glass had reappeared. He started screaming, which brought over Vernon and Petunia.

Remus and Robin noticed the predicament they were in, but were too late. Vernon swerved towards them with a glare.

“This was  _ you _ , you lot and you’re doing.” He accused.

“I had nothing to do with it.” Remus said, holding his hands up, along with Robin.

“As if I’m going to believe  _ you _ ! You’re trying to corrupt this boy? Well he’s already corrupted.” Vernon snarled, grabbing Harry’s arm violently.

Lynn wanted to yell and scream, but she watched with sadness in her eyes as Harry looked back at her. Vernon, Petunia, Dudley, and Harry in tow walked out of the building, Duduley crying and sobbing as they went.

“Well, at least we know now that he should be expecting mail soon.” Remus muttered.

Robin smiled, but it wasn’t as bright.

“If they hurt him, I swear I’m going to break their faces in.”

A week later, over a week from Lynn’s birthday and about two from Harry’s, found Harry to have the most eventful few days of his life. He woke up bright and early and did his typical morning routine. He was a bit too early to see Lynn at the window, so he continued to make breakfast for the Dursley’s. 

He heard the post arrived and walked to the door to get it. He grabbed the bundle and sorted through it, picking out the bills and the ads to give to Vernon to throw away, and the personal letters and magazines to Petunia. He paused on one envelope in particular. It was addressed to himself.

**Mr. H. Potter**

**The cupboard** **_under_ ** **the stairs**

**4, Privet drive,**

**Little Whinging,**

**Surrey**

 

He kept the envelope to himself and plopped the letters on the table for Vernon to look through. Vernon was showing a bill to Petunia when Dudley caught him opening the red sealed stamped letter. He grabbed it out of Harry’s hands and shouted, handing it to Vernon.

“Hey! That’s  _ my _ letter!”

“Silly boy, who would want to write to  _ you _ ?” Vernon chuckled.

His face paled as he read the envelope and flipped it over. Petunia gasped at the sight of the red stamp. They both exchanged a look and glared at Harry.

“May I read my own letter?” Harry asked.

“No, this is of no importance.” Vernon muttered.

Petunia ordered him to start the dishes, whacking the back of his head. He scowled and put his head down as he started clearing the table and started running the water. He looked up and saw Lynn who was beaming at him.

She held up her own envelope, which was exactly the same as Harry’s. He scrunched his brow and watched as the grin fell off her face. She motioned for him to wait and got a pen and paper. 

He continued doing the dishes all whilst contemplating why she got the same letter he did.  _ What does it mean? _ He looked up and read Lynn’s sign.

**Did you not get one?**

Harry nodded his head but motioned at the Dursley’s and grimaced. She seemed to get the message as she scowled.

Lynn had been so excited that morning when she woke up to see an owl sitting on her bedside. She screamed and grabbed the letter, petting the owl on the head. She ran down the stairs and jumped into Remus’ lap.

“Looklooklooklook!” She exclaimed, shoving the letter in his face.

Remus beamed and laughed down at his daughter.

“Robin! Look!”

Robin got the camera and started photographing the precious moment. Lynn held up her envelope and posed with Remus as Robin snapped the picture. Lynn giggled as Remus tickled her side. She ripped it open and tore the letter out, reading it all out loud.   
  


**Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry**

**Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore (Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)**

_ Dear. Ms. Lupin, _

_ We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31. _

_ Yours sincerely, _

_ Minerva McGonagall  _

_ Deputy Headmistress _

**Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry**

**UNIFORM**

_ First-year students will require:  _

_ 1.Three sets of plain work robes (black)  _

_ 2.One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear  _

_ 3.One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)  _

_ 4.One winter cloak (black, with silver fastenings)  _

_ Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags. _

 

**COURSE BOOKS**

_ All students should have a copy of each of the following: _

_ The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk _

_ A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot _

_ Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling _

_ A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch _

_ One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore _

_ Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger _

_ Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander _

_ The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble _

 

**OTHER EQUIPMENT**

_ 1 wand  _

_ 1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)  _

_ 1 set glass or crystal phials  _

_ 1 telescope  _

_ 1 set brass scales _

_ Students may also bring an owl **OR** a cat **OR** a toad. _

**PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS**

 

“I’m going dad! I’m really really going!” Lynn exclaimed.

“I’m so proud, darling!” Remus said, hugging her close.

They all laughed as they heard two more screams from upstairs, and the sound of running feet. The next hour was filled with loud shouting and cheering. But Lynn’s good mood was crushed because of the stupid Dursley’s.

“What’s wrong, darling?” Remus asked as she turned away from the window.

“The Dursley’s took Harry’s letter.” She said, her brow scrunched and her arms folded over her chest.

Robin froze and whipped her head up at Remus. Remus hid his pleased smile and watched the devastated look on Lynn’s face grow.

“I thought we were going to help him and we would become better friends and go to school together-” Lynn whined, her eyes welling up with tears.

“Hey, darling, it’s okay!” Remus coaxed, getting down on his knees in front of her. “We knew this was going to happen, and we are prepared to help Harry out in any way possible, okay?”

“You knew?” Lynn asked, confused.

“The Dursley’s have a bad past with magic. Petunia was Harry’s mum’s sister, Lily and Petunia never got along and because Lily got married to James, Petunia’s feelings towards Lily and magic grew more hostile. She always knew that Harry would be like us, magical, but I think she convinced herself that she could just ignore it.” Remus explained.

He pushed a strand of hair behind her ear.

“Don’t worry, pumpkin, we’ve got this.”

Lynn smiled up at Remus and Robin.

“Okay.” She agreed with a small smile.   
  
  


~~~X~~~

  
  
  


Remus and Robin most certainly  _ did _ have a plan. Dumbledore smiled as the two Lupin’s entered his office.

“Did it go like we expected?” Dumbledore asked.

“Yeah, sadly, it made Lynnette upset.” Remus said, sitting before him. "And to be honest, it made me upset too."

“Well, we shall try harder then.” Dumbledore announced with a smile, getting up from his chair and feeding something to Fawkes, the beautiful phoenix sitting beside Dumbledore's desk.

“When can we jump in?” Robin asked, leaning forward with anticipation.

“When it just becomes too much." Dumbledore replied, turning slowly towards them, a sad look in his eye. "I shall start sending more letters for the next few days, and if it just starts to get crazy, then I’ll call you in and you can personally go over.” Dumbledore said.

“Thank you, Dumbledore.” Remus thanked with a wide smile.

"It deeply saddens me that my predictions about Harry's home life were wrong. I was under the belief and impression that Petunia and Vernon may one day learnt o love Harry," He paused and looked down at his wrinkled hands. "I was deeply wrong, and I must beg you, Robin, for forgiveness at how I just simple ignored the matters that were directly in my face."

Robin smiled a sad smile up at her former Headmaster.

"I forgive you, Dumbledore."

“Good," Dumbledore said with a smile, grabbing a piece of yellow candy from a clear bowl. "How does the house feel, Robin?” He asked.

“It feels nice, it looks better and the wards are all up. I could feel Harry’s protection from Lily stirring the other day.” Robin said with a confident smile.

“Well that’s good, it mean’s it must be working.” Dumbledore smiled. "Lemon drop, Remus?" He offered Remus the bowl.

“No thanks," Remus said with a smile, getting up from the plush seat. "We’ll let you get to it, then.” Remus said, getting up and walking out of the office with Robin.

Dumbledore smiled at them, but frowned as they left and the doors shut behind them. He turned to his pensive and stared at the memory inside. It was the day that the Potters and Sirius came to talk about the secret keeper, but it was different. He reminded himself to thank Snape for being such a good Legilimens and helping him search through his memories for the missing piece.

“Oh Sirius,” Dumbledore sighed, “I am terribly sorry, my dear boy.”   
  


 

Harry was getting frustrated with every day that crept by. He would wake up, hear the mail come, and see Vernon tearing up more of the letters addressed to him. It was heartwarming to know that someone was reaching out so desperately to get this letter to him, but it was awful to see them be destroyed.

_ What’s so secretive about them? And why did Lynn have one too? _

Day two of the arriving letters was disappointing. Harry had been smacked upside the head and given more chores for trying to beat Dudley to the door for the mail.

Day three of the arriving letters was more painful when Petunia hit his knuckles with a ruler when he tried to sneak past Vernon for the mail. He had almost made it outside, but Vernon pulled him back and greeted the mail man, who was freaked out about the mass amounts of owls on the front step, instead.

Day four was depressing as Harry sat in his cupboard, locked away, and watched through the cubbyhole as Vernon sealed the mail slot closed. Dudley kept running up and down the stairs, creating dirt and spiders to fall on Harry’s shoulders.

Day five, Petunia had company over, so Harry had to make tea, scones, and cookies before being shoved in the cupboard. He caught a glimpse of several owls perched on the fence outside as Petunia cleared the growing pile of red sealed letters. She sent him a deathly glare and threatened him to stay in his cupboard.

Day six was Sunday, so no post came in. Vernon had let Harry out of his cupboard and ordered Harry around throughout the morning. He was beaming and talking lightheartedly with Petunia as Dudley sent mean looks Harry’s way.

Suddenly a letter shot through the chimney and smacked against Vernon’s face. A great trembling sound shook the house and several thousand letters came pouring inside. Harry beamed as he watched the room rain with the letters all addressed to him. He saw through the window suddenly, the neighbor’s cat and was reminded of an idea.

He grabbed a few letters from the ground and made a dash for the door. Vernon shouted at him, and was hot on his heals. Harry turned the knob and sprinted outside. He gasped for the fresh outdoor air and started booking it for the Lupin’s.

Suddenly an arm was wrapped around him and he was tugged down to the ground. He shouted and tried to squirm away. Suddenly someone shouted a word that didn’t sound like English, and uncle Vernon was off of him. Harry looked up to see Remus Lupin with a stick in his hand, aimed at Vernon and Petunia.

“Get that  _ thing  _ out of my face!” Vernon bellowed angrily.

“Leave the boy  _ alone _ , Vernon.” Remus growled.

Harry smiled up at Remus, earning a special smile from him in return. The cat bounced off the fence and into Harry’s lap, purring contently and licking his face. Harry giggled as the rough tongue searched his face, hands, and fingers. It stopped at Harry’s knuckles, where Aunt Petunia had hit him with the ruler. 

The cat growled and pawed at Remus’ leg. Harry stared in awe at how smart the cat was. Remus looked down and noticed the cat licking at Harry’s knuckles. Remus picked up Harry’s hands and paled. He looked up at the Dursley’s, his stick still raised.

“How about we talk inside.” Remus said, more like demanded.

The Dursley’s obeyed and ran inside. Remus grabbed Harry and smiled painfully down at him, trying to hide a grimace.

“Did they hurt you anywhere else, Harry?” He asked.

“No, they just didn’t want me getting the letters.” Harry said, but smirked and pulled the five he had grabbed and shoved in his pants. “But I got them now.”

Remus beamed and rustled Harry’s hair with his large hand. He walked Harry inside, leaving the cat out on the doorstep. Remus sat down across from the Dursley’s with Harry by his side, protectively.

“Okay, I am not here to chat: I am here to negotiate. I have my understandings that you have lied to the boy and not told him anything about who he is?” Remus begun.

Vernon’s face reddened and Petunia paled with a scowl.

“I am also under the impression that there aren’t any rooms for Harry, and that he sleeps in the  _ cupboard _ . He also makes your breakfast, does your chores, cleans your house, and hides away from company. When he goes to school, your son bullies anyone who tries to get near him, his teachers are under the impression that he’s stupid because of your influence, and he barely gets any food.

“This needs to stop, right now.” Remus barked.

“Why should we?!” Vernon exclaimed, outraged.

“Because, my sister is taking him in.” Remus ordered.

Harry whipped his head up at Remus, surprised and shocked.

“What?! Why?!” Petunia exclaimed.

“You remember Sirius, don’t you?”

“That shaggy haired one? Of course.” Petunia scoffed.

“He was made Harry’s godfather, but he’s unavailable to be Harry’s guardian. But since Robin married Sirius, she has rights for him to take him in.”

“Why should we let you?” Vernon demanded.

“You’ve been getting the letters.” Remus said with a wolfish smile.

They both paled and stared at each other.

“You don’t want anything to do with us, fine. But Harry is one of us, and you can’t just keep him and abuse him. Robin wants to take him in and give him a good home so that he can go to school as he is supposed to.”

“Not with you living so close! Absolutely not! Think of the madness!” Petunia exclaimed.

“We are moving into Sirius and Robin’s old home in the countryside. You will never see or hear from us again.” Remus offered, extending his hand to Vernon.

The two looked at each other, long and hard.

“You  _ lot _ won’t ever disrupt us, ever again?” Vernon inquired.

“Not if we can’t help it.” Remus promised.

Vernon sat for a few seconds. Harry was breathing hard at the opportunity before him. He just wanted to scream at Vernon to shake on it and let him  _ go _ . Finally, Vernon leaned forward and shook Remus’ hand firmly.

“Deal, now get his stuff and be gone.”

Harry gaped in awe at Vernon and up at Remus. Remus smiled and looked down at Harry.

“Let’s pack your things, Harry.” He said, a twinkle in his hazel eyes.

Harry led Remus to his cupboard and shyly opened it up. Remus stared in horror at how small and shabby the cupboard was. There was a small mattress shoved in on the floor, old magazines, books, a flashlight, some army men, and a few broken toys in the cluttered and small space.

“This is awful, Harry.” Remus muttered.

Harry looked up at Remus as he packed his last old shirt into his bag. He grabbed his army men and a few of his favorite books and magazines. He blushed and tied his rucksack up.

“It wasn’t much, but I guess it worked.”

Remus was too sad to say anything more. He nodded his head and lead Harry for the door. Harry looked behind him and watched as Petunia stared him down. He looked forward, pinching himself to see if it was a dream, and followed Remus into the front yard. Robin stood there with a bright smile on her face. She kneeled down before Harry and was surprised to see him tackle her in a huge hug. 

“Thank you.” He murmured, trying to control his tears.

“You’re welcome, Harry.” Robin said, tears spilling down her cheeks.

_ Finally, I can avenge Lily, my dearest friend _ , Robin thought happily.

She leaned back on her heels and stood up. She took his hand and Remus took the other, Harry’s rucksack slung over his shoulder.

“Okay, Harry, brace yourself, because this is going to be a weird sensation.” Robin warned.

“Wha-”

Suddenly Remus and Robin Side Apparated Harry to The Black Estate. They landed in front of the Estate perfectly. Harry leaned forward and puked. Remus patted Harry’s back.

“Sorry, it’s a little hard for first timers.” Remus apologized.

“What was that?!” Harry choked out, wiping his mouth.

“We just Apparated," Robin said, extending her hand out to the great big, dark wooden brown house "welcome home, Harry!” Robin cheered.

Harry was confused, but he heard Remus talk about Vernon lying to him about his past, so he reasoned that they would probably tell him the truth.

They walked up to the house and opened the front door to hear muggle music playing on a record player. It was one of Sirius’ old records that Robin had agreed on playing occasionally. Harry grinned at how big the house was. Suddenly Romi appeared from around the corner and grinned a bright smile.

“Guys! He’s here!” He exclaimed over his shoulder.

Astrid, Romi, and Lynn suddenly ran from around the corner and pummeled Harry to the ground in hugs. They were all giggling and laughing as they rolled around for a few seconds before getting up. Lynn hugged Harry properly when they were upright.

“I’m so glad you’re here!” Lynn exclaimed.

Harry flushed a bright red and hugged the girl back hesitantly.

"Th-Thank you." He stuttered.

“We have a lot to tell Harry tonight.” Remus muttered, sending the kids looks.

They rushed through dinner, making a wonderful steak dinner with mashed potatoes, green beans, gravy, and rolls. Harry sat there after his dinner, completely full for once. It was a wonderful feeling, and Harry was scared this was all a dream.

After they all dug into the chocolate cream pie Marlene had made earlier, Remus and Robin sent the other kids to do some chores, the muggle way. They pulled Harry into Remus’ office and sat Harry down.

“Harry, there’s a reason why we couldn’t get you sooner than later." Harry scrunched his brow up at that. "I want to apologize for that and for making you go through hell.” Robin said solemnly.

Harry nodded and listened as they continued.

“Harry, you’re parents died when you were just a little baby, did the Dursley’s tell you how?” Remus began.

“They said that they crashed their car one night because my dad was drinking and driving.” Harry muttered.

Remus grimaced and tried to calm his nerves.

" _What_?!" Robin bellowed.

"Shh, Robi," Remus hushed her, glancing over at the shocked expression on Harry's pale face. "Let's not get too riled up-"

“Of course they would tell him  _ that _ !” Robin exclaimed.

“What really happened?” Harry asked.

“Harry, you’re parents were murdered.” Remus breathed out with a hitch in his normally smooth and sweet voice.

“By a burglar? A thief?” Harry guessed, his face going pale.

“By a Dark Wizard.” Remus flat out said.

“A what?” Harry muttered, not sure if they were pulling his leg or not.

“There’s a lot that you don’t know, and we are here to say that a wizard killed your parents and tried to kill you.” Robin said, adding onto what her brother had said.

"How is that possible?" Harry muttered.

"How is what possible?" Remus asked.

"How do Wizards  _exist_? Are  _you_ wizards?!" Harry exclaimed.

"Harry, let us explain-" Remus tried to say, before Harry sat up and spoke first.

“Why?” He asked. "Why did my parents get killed?"

“It’s, er, complicated reasons. But the Dark Lord wanted control and your parents put up a fight, so he hunted them down and killed them. He tried to kill you, but the spell bounced off you and killed him. That’s why you’ve got that scar on your forehead.” Remus explained, tying to simplify the story, but also not lie to the poor boy.

Harry traced the lightning shaped scar on his forehead in horror.

“You’re parents were also magical, Harry. And that means-”

“I’m a wizard  _ too _ ?” Harry stuttered, gaping up at Remus.

“Yes, you are related to a powerful line of wizards and witches. The Potter family is a famous, powerful wizarding family. You’re father was an only child.” Remus explained.

“How do you know this? Are you magical too? Is that why the snake got loose and my hair always constantly grew?!” Harry thundered out questions.

“Yes, that’s what’s called ‘Accidental Magic’.” Robin explained.

“And yes, we are magical too. We, er, actually knew your parents quite well.” Remus said.

Harry’s eyes widened.

“You knew my parents?!” 

“Yes, I was friends with James since we were eleven, and I became friends with Lily when we were about fifteen.” Remus said with a smile.

“I was good friends with Lily ever since I was fourteen.” Robin said.

“Wh-What were they like?” Harry asked in a small voice.

“They were excellent people, Harry. Your mother had the same eyes as you and your father had the same unruly hair.” Remus chuckled. “James was passionate and chivalrous. He liked to play pranks and joke around, while Lily loved to read and study. But Lily was fierce and only the people closest to her knew that side of her.” Remus said.

“Harry, do you still have those letters you stole?” Robin asked.

Harry pulled them out of his shirt with a blush.

“Why don’t you open it now.” Robin said, leaning forward and watching as Harry grabbed one and started to rip it open.

He was ecstatic; he had wanted to know what was in these letters. He was also riding a high on learning about who he was and his parents. He pulled a letter out and unfolded it. His green eyes widened as he read over the first few lines.   
  


_**Dear Mr. Potter,** _

_ We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.  _

Harry gaped up at Remus and Robin.

“I’ve been accepted?!” Harry questioned.

“You’re parents went there, as well as us. You’re living on the legacy, Harry.” Remus said with a wide smile.

Harry leaped forward and hugged Remus and finally Robin.

“Thank you, so much for this.”

“You’re welcome, Harry.” Robin muttered, smiling happily.


	6. Chapter 5: Entering the Magical World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Harry's and Lynnette's birthdays, and with that comes the countdown to their first year at Hogwarts.  
> To celebrate their birthday's, Harry get's to meet some new faces and go to Diagon Alley with his new friends. But along the way, some new faces pop up, some not so new to others, and a mysterious trip ensues further down the line, leaving Robin emotional and scarred.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is probably my favorite chapter so far...
> 
> BTW: this chapter contains some violent themes, and mentions of abuse.

**Chapter 5: Entering the Magical World**

 

This was the first year that Harry _actually_ celebrated his birthday. He was ecstatic to find out that he and Lynn almost shared birthdays, just four days apart. Remus had told them stories about how Lily and Jeannette had sat on the couch together or in each other’s beds, sharing muggle foods and complaining throughout their pregnancy together.

Harry and Lynn agreed they wanted to combine their birthdays together and decided to celebrate them together on Harry’s birthday. But on Lynn’s day, they celebrated as a family together. Harry had been informed that there were people he was going to meet on his day as Lynn wanted to spend a day with her friends as well and everyone wanted Harry to meet their school friends. He was a little nervous at the aspect of meeting new people who were already friends with Lynn, Romi, and Astrid.  _What if they don't like me? That would be so awkward..._

Lynn woke up with a start and a smile on her lips. She could smell something delicious downstairs as she got up and darted out of her room and down the stairs. She stopped as she took in the sight of the dining room at the bottom of the stairs. Everyone was seated at the dining table and all looked up expectantly as she came into view.

“Happy Birthday Lynn!” They all cheered as she blushed and ran down the stairs towards her dad.

She jumped into his arms as he laughed and hugged her close. He kissed the top of her head with a twinkle in his hazel eyes.

“Happy Birthday darling.”

Lynnette almost cried on the spot. Her past birthdays had always been spent at the Rossbury’s house for bible studies and boring picnics. They would give her simple presents with no meaning or love whatsoever. Like bibles and journals, church dresses, and jewelry she didn’t even like.

But she was saved from that world and brought here; the wizarding world where her real family was, her dad with his bright smile and excellent hugs, her aunt with her kind smiles and excellent ideas and a love for spoiling Lynn with girlish things she actually liked, her godmother and her prank ideas and amazing cinnamon and chocolate chip cookies, and her amazing cousin and god cousins who loved her desperately.

This was the life she would choose over anything in a heartbeat.

“Thank you, daddy.” Lynn whispered, trying to hide her tears of joy.

“We have your favorite!” Astrid exclaimed as Aunt Marlene walked in the room with a platter of something delicious smelling. “Chocolate chip pancakes, muggle chocolate milk (the good kind), lemon bread with icing, croissants with chocolate spreads of various kinds, and strawberries and raspberries.”

Lynn’s eyes widened and a smile expanded over her features as she took in the whole table of food and treats. She also noticed a stack of presents set beside a seat with muggle balloons, and streamers that changed colors of Lynn’s favorite shades (pastel colors mostly, like baby pink and blue, yellow, green, and lavender.

“This is your seat over here.” Romi pointed out with a smirk.

Lynn hopped off of her father’s lap and sat herself down in the designated seat. She searched everyone’s faces as they all seated themselves down and looked up at Lynn. Harry had a sparkle in his eye that she had never noticed before, and it brightened something more within her. She was glad to see him warming up to the family like she did. Astrid was bouncing in her seat and she finally bursted.

“Well? Can we dig in?!”

Everyone laughed and Robin nodded her head with a look towards Lynn for approval, which Lynn gave. Everyone dug in, grabbing pancakes, croissants, and the lemon bread with chatter and a gay spirit among them. Everyone was sharing stories of their short amount of time spent with Lynn. No one brought up her past birthdays or her old parents, which pleased Lynn sufficiently.

“Lynn,” Astrid muttered, swallowing her bite, “are you going to open your presents?”

Everyone looked up as Lynn flushed and sheepishly grabbed for a couple letters near the top. Lynn smiled as she read her friend’s names and read them aloud for everyone to hear, since Robin asked for her to do.

“This one is from Ron and Ginny,” Lynn said, clearing her throat before reading them,

“ _Happy Birthday, Lynn! We both can’t wait to see you next Thursday and give our gifts in person. We just wanted to say how excited we are about seeing you once again and going to Diagon Alley together-_ wait, dad?! We are going to Diagon Alley?!” Lynn exclaimed, smacking her hand on the table.

Remus and the two other adults laughed and covered their faces.

“It was _supposed_ to be a surprise.” Remus muttered.

“We are going?” Harry asked, his green eyes wide.

He had only been to Diagon Alley to get some money so he could buy a gift for Lynn, but his limited time spent there had been purely magical. He looked at everyone’s faces quickly with such enthusiasm, Lynn was sure that he was going to permanently stay that way because of his wide smile.

“Yes, we are, if you don’t mind, Harry.” Robin said, looking slightly nervous.

“If I don’t mind?! I would love to!” Harry exclaimed, meeting his eyes with Lynn’s.

They both shared a smile between each other that Remus could only peg as something no one else in the family would ever be able to understand.  _It must be something about their past and their growing up experiences_.

“Okay, continue reading, Lynn.” Robin said, trying to calm down Harry and the other kids who had started chattering.

“ _...w_ _e have loved getting to know you and can’t wait for the following school year at Hogwarts ahead!_

_-Ron and Ginny Weasley_

Lynn grabbed another card and smiled at Luna’s cursive, curly font.

_Lynnette Jeannette Lupin,_

_I wish you the happiest and merriest of birthdays. May there be delicious cake and that the gobblewonkers won’t be a serious problem for you- they tend to love birthday cake and presents, that’s another reason I have not sent my present yet, and am awaiting to be in person this Thursday._

_Have a great day, and tell Harry Potter I cannot wait to meet him._

_~Luna Lovegood_

Harry’s eyebrows shot up at the mention of his name and his ears reddened.

“How did she-”

“It’s Luna we are talking about here, she knows _everything_.” Romi muttered, his eyes wide.

Lynn smiled as she read through Neville’s note and set that along with the other letters. She finally got started on the presents, beginning with the one’s closest to her. The closest happened to be a medium sized present from Astrid and Romi together. They both giggled and pressed themselves forward as Lynn unwrapped it.

She smiled and gasped at the sight of it. It was a book set of the muggle Narnia series. Lynn had only ever read them when she checked them out of the library, and she was never able to take them home or else her parents would cause a riot. She grabbed the box set and hugged it to her chest.

“I remembered you saying you loved that muggle series and Romi said he had seen them at a shop in Little Whinging when we stayed over the summer.” Astrid explained, smiling anticipatingly up at her cousin.

“Do you like it?” Romi asked, suddenly nervous.

Lynn let out a giggle and wrapped her cousin and godbrother in a huge hug.

“This is an amazing gift, thank you so much!” Lynn thanked, pulling back and smiling at them.

She went on to another present from Aunt Robin, who smirked at her and winked. Lynn flashed a smile and quickly unwrapped it, missing the pale complexion her aunt was donning. She revealed the present to be a small record player with a few records inside.

Lynn gasped and observed the perfectly new looking and shining record player. It was a beautiful gold trimmed and navy blue player and was small enough to sit on a desk or bedside. The records that went with it Lynn recognized and gaped up at her aunt.

Robin just smiled a small, if pained, smile and opened her mouth to explain.

“Those used to be your Uncle’s and I know how much you loved listening to them. I talked with Astrid and she agreed in wanting you to have them. The player was also his.”

“Th-Thank you, Auntie, I don’t know what to say- I know how hard this must be for you…” Lynn muttered.

“I’m perfectly fine, Lynn,” Robin assured in a calm tone, “I want you to have this, you love the music and I want to see you happy. It also helps me in getting over the past, even if it really is slowly, but it will be surely.”

Lynn smiled at her aunt and got up to hug her, whispering her thanks in her ears. Robin squeezed her niece back and smiled into her dark brown wavy hair. Lynn returned to her presents as she sat back down in her seat.

She unwrapped a set of wizarding books on all the classes Lynn was about to take from Marlene. They were more detailed and thorough, giving much more information about the topics. Lynn greatly appreciated it, since she had voiced to Marlene that she had wanted to get more of a head start on her studies ahead and not be behind because of the summer.

Also, within the study books, Lynn found a book on wizarding recipes and the basis of cooking the wizarding way. She beamed up at her godmother (whom insisted that she refer to her as an aunt, unless her father died) and hugged her in thanks.

She was surprised that Harry had actually gotten her something, but she was very grateful and opened the parcel excitedly. She beamed a bright smile as she found a small painting of a girl that looked very similar to herself. That’s when she realized that it wasn’t her or anyone else, it was her mother.

“How did you do this?” Lynn asked, breathlessly.

“I was shopping with Uncle Remus and we came upon this little art shop on a corner of Diagon Alley and I peered inside and saw the picture. I thought it looked like you and pointed it out, and Remus claimed it was your mum.” Harry explained, his cheeks flared.

“The artist had painted her before she died one day when she was shopping. I didn’t realize it had been done and that the artist had kept it and hung it up.” Remus said in a soft voice.

“Thank you, Harry.” Lynn breathed out and jumped up to hug Harry.

“You’re welcome, Lynn.” Harry said happily.

Lynn wiped at her eyes desperately to stop the tears from flowing and plopped back on the seat, knowing that Remus’ was the last gift. She lifted it up onto the table and sent her dad a look before diving in. She tore away the wrapping paper to find a large box.

She opened it up and peered inside. There were several small wrappings and boxes with separate gifts inside.

“I couldn’t just pick one thing, I had much more to give though, so I just stuck with those few things.” Remus explained.

Lynn grabbed a parcel and unwrapped it to reveal a series of tattered, yet nice looking journals. She gaped at the handwriting on the front of them. They had her mother’s name on them and the years at Hogwarts she had written them in.

“I remember seeing those darn journals,” Robin said with a chuckle, “Jean loved to keep those close by just in case she needed desperately to write something down.”

“These _are_ her journals?” Lynn asked.

“Yes, she loved writing in them, even up to her pregnant years when she had nothing better to do.” Remus said with a nostalgic smile.

Lynn set them aside and grabbed another parcel and unwrapped it. Inside was a large book, and on the front it read that it was a Photo Album. Lynn gasped as she opened up the first few pages and marvelled at the photos of her mom when she was her age and younger.

Lynn grabbed a small box and opened it to see a golden locket. It was beautiful and quite large for a locket. She cracked it open and blinked back tears at the photos that were revealed. As the locket opened, it was obviously charmed to have more slots for pictures, as the golden slots multiplied and three more appeared besides the original two.

There were moving wizard photos of the beautiful Jeannette and Remus in the original slots. In the extra three, there was a picture of Robin laughing and smiling in her Hufflepuff quidditch robes, broomstick in hand, standing next to, the rarely seen by Lynn, Sirius Black in his own Gryffindor quidditch robes. The next slot had Marlene with short cut, spiky hair as she was sitting at the Gryffindor table in the dining hall and was smirking at something someone was saying. The last slot was of the Potter’s, Lily and James, both giggling at each other as they sat on the bleachers of the quidditch stands.

The last parcel was a book on different kinds of pressed plants, herbs, and flowers with notes and documentation on the side. Lynn traced her hand over the cover of the book and beamed up at Remus. Remus smiled in relief at his daughter’s reaction. She leaped forward, tears in her eyes and a giggle on her lips.

“Thank you thank you so much for the best birthday ever.” She murmured into his chest.

Remus hugged her tenderly and rubbed her head fondly.

“You’re welcome, my beautiful darling.” He said, so grateful for Minerva Mcgonagall and how she helped change his life.

  


~~~X~~~

  


Harry had never been happier.

The day of his birthday was one of the most memorable days for him, except the day that Robin Black swooped into his life and saved him from the Dursley’s. The Dursley’s had never ever taken notice to Harry’s birthday. They would just give him extra chores or build up his expectations and then drop them and crush Harry.

He had never understood why his own family had to be so cruel, but here he was with his parent’s friends and his godmother, who wanted to be called anything but that. He didn’t know if he could call Robin ‘mum’, but he didn’t want to call her Aunt Bobbins like his cousins did.

It was weird to wrap his head around, and he had to sit down and make a family tree for himself of what his family looked like to him. He wrote out James and Lily's names with his underneath. Next to James' name, was Sirius Black and Robin's as his godparents. Underneath their names was Astoria's (he had figured out her name by Romi, but was chased around the house and backyard for it). Right next to Robin's name, was Remus and Jeannette with Lynn underneath them.  Right next to Lily's name, was Marlene and her late husband, John Smith, with Romi's name underneath. Next to John's name though, was Marlene's new husband, Andrew Abbott, with Irabella underneath his name. Between all of the names, Harry had connected each of the godparents to their distinct godchildren. Sirius and Robin being Harry's, Remus being Romi's, and Marlene being Lynn's.

Harry felt accomplished knowing his family and having it written down. He had hung the drawing up above his bed and he admired it every night, knowing there were people who loved and cared for him. Later, when he found pictures of every one, he hung them up by each person. He absolutely loved wizard photographs and how James and Lily could smile and wave at him. Harry was secretely fascinated with his godfather though, despite what was told to him, that his godfather was in jail for unspeakable crimes. He knew there was so much more to Sirius' mysterious past that the adults were keeping from him, but he didn't know how to figure it out without being disrespectful. So he decided not to push the subject any further than Astrid had with her mother in the past.

Harry woke up on the day of his birthday to hear footsteps storming towards his room. The door bursted open before he could put his glasses on. Lynn jumped inside, her hazel eyes wide with obvious excitement.

“Harry! Get up! Get up! We are having breakfast!” She exclaimed, grabbing his hand and dragging him downstairs.

Harry beamed as he was greeted with the same sight that Lynn had on her special day, everyone was seated around the table and waiting for him. He walked down the steps and gave Robin a hug on his way to his seat, just the same as Lynn had.

“What time is everyone coming over?” Harry asked as he sat down.

“A quarter till noon,” Remus answered with a smile, “happy birthday, Harry.”

Harry blushed and hid himself in the pile of pancakes that was placed right in front of him. Everyone chattered and talked lively through the breakfast. Robin agreed, along with everyone else, to allow Harry to open his presents from the family as they all ate.

Romi had gotten him a booklet of Gryffindor team member cards, all of them wizard photographs and moving across the glossy cards. Astrid had gotten Harry _The Beginners Guide to Quidditch_ , making him promise to read over it more so that she and Romi could have someone to scrimmage with.

Lynn had gotten him something to go along with the present he had gotten her, and that was a wizarding photograph of Lily Evans Potter posing and laughing on a log on a beach. Harry had almost cried at the beauty of the photograph and of his mum, and crushed Lynn in a huge hug. She said that the picture came from a stash that Remus had found in the attic that Uncle Sirius Black had taken.

Aunt Marlene had gotten him a bottle of Sleekeazy’s Hair Potion that she had bought several years ago and had stored packages of it as bait to tease and taunt James with. Harry absolutely loved it and stared in awe at Marlene as she recalled a story of how she and Sirius had made everyone in the school wear it and taunt James over how his father, Harry’s grandpa Fleamont, had invented the hair potion.

Remus had found many of Lily’s favorite books and wrapped them up neatly for Harry, as well as a scrapbook of Lily and James wedding and the first year of Harry’s life. Harry promised himself he would look at them all later.

Harry could tell the present Robin had gotten Harry was hard for her to deal with. He was happy about it, but also mindful of his godmother’s feelings towards it. It was a couple of framed wizard photos from when Harry was a baby. There was one of James, Lily, and Harry all together at Christmas in the snow all dressed up. There was a picture of Remus holding Harry and laughing as Harry tried to grab Jeannette’s necklace as she was hugging her husband from behind.

Harry could tell why Robin was shaken up, by the photo of Sirius and James helping guide baby Harry on a toy broomstick in the living room at Christmas time. The last photo was of Sirius holding Harry in his arms on the day he was born, he had bags under his eyes, but his smile was wide as he stared up at the camera and looked back down at Harry.

“Thank you, Mu- I mean, Robin.” Harry said, flushing at his mistake.

Robin just smiled, looking less sick than before. She rustled his hair and hugged him into her side.

“Despite the bad memories I have of the events that took place after these memories, doesn’t mean you have to live in the dark about your past.” She grinned down at Harry, making sure he was looking up at her, “and you can call me whatever you like. I did adopt you, but that doesn’t mean you need to feel obliged or rushed to call me mum.”

Harry smiled warmly at his godmother.

“ _She’s_ your mother,” Robin said, pointing to Lily in one of the pictures, “but she wanted me to be your mother if she-” she paused before continuing, “if she and James came to a position where they weren’t able to.”

“We want you to feel comfortable here, Harry.” Remus said, jumping into the conversation. “It’s what your parents would have wanted, and we don’t want to rush you into anything you don’t want.”

“Thank you, so much, for all of this,” Harry thanked, looking at everyone, “I feel more comfortable here than anywhere else in my life.”

He looked down at the pictures smiling up at him.

“I just wish I could remember these memories you all know so well.” He said, a little sadly.

Robin rubbed his back reassuringly and smiled at him.

“We are here for you, as family and blood, Harry.” Robin said.

“Now,” Marlene said, getting up from the table, “let’s get ready for our guests!”

The next hour was a rush of movement and preparations. Astrid and Romi helped clean up their rooms and the house of various items, Remus did clean up spells on the furniture of dust and grime, Marlene finished baking the last of the party food, and Robin and Lynn set up the backyard for where the main festivities were taking place.

Neville Longbottom was the first person through the Floo, his grandmother trailing closely behind. Remus, Lynn and Harry were instructed to greet people as they came in, and they all smiled and greeted the two guests.

“Augusta! It’s been quite a while since I’ve seen you!” Remus greeted, taking her hand gently and kissing it. Lynn curtsied and Harry copied Remus’ actions.

“Hullo, Remus. Yes, it has been too long!” Augusta Longbottom greeted in response.

“This is my daughter, Lynnette Jeannette Lupin, and my adopted nephew Harry James Potter.” Remus introduced, motioning to Lynn and Harry.

Neville’s eyes widened at the mention of Harry and he bowed viciously, almost knocking himself into his grandmother.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mister Potter-” Neville said in a rushed, shaky voice.

Lynn laughed, lightening the mood.

“Neville, there’s no need for that,” she gave him a small hug before standing beside him and facing Harry.

“Harry, this is Neville, Neville Longbottom. Romi, Astrid, and I went to school with him this past year.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Neville.” Harry greeted sheepishly, shaking Neville’s hand.

Neville was still in awe, but he was less awkward as Harry asked him if he was into quidditch at all. They started a short conversation of the different teams and which ones were better.

Augusta left after Neville found Romi and joined him outside. Suddenly, a mob of redheads jumped out of the fireplace. Harry’s eyes widened at the sight.

“Ginny!” Lynn exclaimed, rushing forward and crushing a redheaded girl into a hug.

The girl, Ginny, looked slightly younger than Harry, Lynn, and the others, but she smiled and greeted Lynn with the same enthusiasm.

“Hullo Molly, Arthur.” Remus greeted the two eldest of the group, obviously the other children’s parents.

“Harry,” Lynn said, motioning at Harry, “this is Ginny, Ron, George, and Fred Weasley.” She turned to the Weasley’s and motioned at Harry, “Guys, this is Harry Potter.”

Harry stuck out his hand, and the youngest boy who was their age, extended his and shook Harry’s hand with enthusiasm.

“Hullo there! I’m Ron-”

Harry was sidetracked by the girl, Ginny, gasping up at Harry. Lynn nudged Ginny in the stomach and glared at her, stopping the scene she was about to make.

“Hey Gin!” Astrid greeted suddenly, grabbing Ginny’s attention.

As she left, Ron let out a sigh and looked up at Harry apologetically.

“Sorry ‘bout her, she’s a girl, and you know how they deal with things. Crazy, am I right?” Ron said, trying to crack a joke.

“We are _all_ not crazy, Ronald.” Lynn muttered, crossing her arms over her chest defensively.

“Good going mate,” one of the twins said.

“Yeah, good going, brother.” The other finished.

“It’s alright, I haven’t had many experiences with other girls. Lynn and Astrid are the only one’s I’ve met so far.” Harry said with a smile.

Ron smiled and started to ask Harry various questions as the twins meandered towards the backyard where Romi was trying to get Neville to play quidditch with him, Astrid, and Ginny.

Suddenly the Floo roared to life again and Luna stepped out, followed by a tall blonde, long haired man. Lynn greeted Luna with a ginormous hug and introduced her to Harry. Harry was pleased that Luna wasn’t as weird as Ginny, that she was very calm and collected and asked strange questions, but it just appeared to be her charm.

The children all gathered in the yard and joined in the game of quidditch, even though it wasn’t real quidditch, it was being played on the ground since no one had enough brooms for everyone. Finally Robin gathered them all together for a group picture and had everyone sit down at the table for food and presents.

Fred and George sat on opposites sides of Harry, telling him all about the pranks they did at Hogwarts and how exciting the school was. Ron sat opposite of him and talked all about the Chudley Canons and how amazing of a season they had.

“I know!” Astrid bellowed, jumping into the conversation, “I couldn’t believe how well they actually did!”

“ _You_ watch quidditch?” Ron questioned, partially in awe and in confusion.

Astrid pointed her chin out defensively and crossed her arms across her chest. Romi signaled Harry across the table, his eyes wide with fear.

“Why yes, Ronald, don’t you remember our lovely debates in class this past year?”

Ron’s face went crimson and he looked down at his plate.

“Sorry, I forgot.” He mumbled.

Astrid rolled her eyes and looked up at her mother, who was moving an array of presents over to where Harry and Lynn sat.

“Okay now! We are going to have Harry and Lynn open their presents now!” Robin announced.

Lynn beamed a smile at Harry and dived into the first package she was given. Harry followed along, removing the card from Neville and Augusta.

For Harry, he got several things that he had never dreamed of. From Neville and his grandmother, he got a nice set of Wizard’s Chess. Ron and Ginny had gotten him a variety of candies and little magical toys and fun things. The twins got him a whole bunch of pranking devices and sweets like their siblings had done. Luna had gotten him a magazine on The Quibbler’s Informal on the World of Quidditch. She had also made him a necklace of bottle caps and a small painting of a phoenix she had made a while back. Harry was smiling by the time Lynn finished with her gifts.

Lynn had gotten some colored quills and charmed drawing paper that would turn into an outline of whatever was on your mind from Neville and Augusta. Ron got her some chocolate frogs and a cheesy looking hair tie for her hair. Ginny got her a Peppermint Pasty and some charmed hair decorations that would glow and change shapes of different varieties of whatever one wanted. The twins had gotten her charmed quills that would write out jokes and prank ideas when one’s mind was motivated to be mischievous. Luna got Lynn a huge parcel of several things; a beautiful sketch of a rose Luna’s mother had drawn before she had died, a parcel of sugar quills, a painting she did of Lynn herself (which was really good and blew everyone’s mind away), and an assortment of wizard history and romance muggle novels.

“Thank you, everyone, who got us a gift.” Lynn thanked everyone as they finished their food.

“Yes, thank you so much, even though I hardly know you all.” Harry said, slightly embarrassed.

“Okay,” Remus said, standing up, “we are going to Floo into Diagon Alley. All of your parents are waiting there and we are all going to go and look around. This is also school shopping, as I’ve talked with your parents.”

“We thought it would be fun for you all to go shopping together, for your first year of school.” Robin said, smiling as the kids all cheered.

“Are you excited, Harry?” Ron exclaimed as everyone piled into the house near the fireplace.

“Oh definitely! I haven’t been to Diagon Alley all that much.” Harry explained.

“It’s dreadfully fun! There’s a quidditch shop with a new model of the Nimbus 2000 in the front window!” Ron said in a cheery tone as everyone carefully Flooed in one at a time.

Ginny and Astrid were the first one’s through, and smiled and greeted Arthur and Molly waiting on the other side. Lynn and Luna Flooed through next and Lynn let out an excited squeal. She bursted through the crowd in the Leaky Cauldron towards a bright haired woman.

“Dora! Tonks!” Lynn greeted, hugging the woman tightly.

Nymphadora almost screamed at the sudden contact of Lynn, but smiled and hugged the girl closer. She even whirled her around in a circle for closure.

“How’s the birthday girl doing? Oh wait, you aren’t the one with a birthday today…” Nymphadora teased, smirking at Lynn.

“Oh stop it, or else I’ll call you Nymphadora for the rest of your life!” Lynn teased back.

Nymphadora just grinned and ran a hand over Lynn’s head.

“I know, I know, dear one. Here ya go, to shut you up.” She said in mock annoyance, handing over a parcel to Lynn. “Now, where’s the birthday boy?”

“Harry!” Lynn called as Harry came through the Floo.

His eyes widened and he took in the whole building around him. His eyes landed on Nymphadora’s hair and he smiled in greeting.

“Harry, this is Nymphadora Tonks, Uncle Sirius’ cousin and Aunt Bobbins’ friend. But don’t call her Nymphadora, she likes to go by Tonks.” Lynn introduced.

Nymphadora extended a hand and grasped Harry’s small one in hers.

“It’s nice to finally meet you, Harry.” Nymphadora said with a smile.

“I’m Harry Potter, it’s nice to meet you Nym- er, I mean, Tonks.” Harry greeted, almost forgetting to not call her by name.

“You might not want to say that outloud, kid, anyone would be dying to meet you-”

“Did I hear Harry Potter?!” A voice called from behind Tonks.

“Come along, let’s go join the others by the barrier.” She said, pushing the two forward.

Suddenly, a figure stepped in front of them. Tonks pulled her wand out and aimed it at the man out of instinct. The man pulled back with a great stutter.

“Oh bugger, sorry sir! I didn’t quite see you there.” Tonks apologized, shoving her wand away in her cloak.

Harry suddenly felt a wave of pain erupt on his forehead as the stuttering man bowed and awkwardly made eye contact with him. Lynn couldn’t help the frown that crawled onto her face as she noticed the strange effect the mystery man was having on Harry.

“Oh n-no w-worries, i-it’s all f-fine!” The man stuttered. “I h-heard you s-say your name, d-dear boy. I-Is i-it t-true, wh-who you s-say you are?” He asked, his dark eyes wide.

Harry just stared in a slight wince up at the man, unable to say anything. The man had turned around and the pain in his forehead was suddenly gone.

“Sir, this is an important day and you are ruining a poor boy’s birthday with all of your questions,” Tonks interrupted. “We must be off now.”

“O-Oh, I-I b-beg of y-your f-f-forgiveness, m-miss. I-I am d-dreadfully s-s-s-sorry.” The man apologized quickly, bowing down to the ground as Tonks grabbed Lynn and Harry’s wrists forward.

As they walked away, Lynn couldn’t help but feel curious. She looked over at Harry and noticed him grimacing less as they walked away. _Huh,_ she thought to herself, _I wonder what could have caused that for Harry…_

"Are you alright, Harry?" Tonks asked nervously as they appeared at the brick wall.

"Yeah, I'm fine now." Harry muttered, trying to smile and ignore the weird sensation.

"If that ever happens again, you can tell one of us adults, alright?" Tonks said, "Now that's a sentence I never thought I would say: I, Tonks, am an  _adult_... eugh!" She grimaced and repeated the pattern on the bricks.

Lynn giggled as Harry watched the bricks separate and reveal the alley ahead of them. Harry had come in this way before, yet it still awed him by the simple magic displayed in front of him. He was still getting used to seeing his family using wands to do daily chores around the house, but it was nothing compared to the other witches and wizards surrounding him now. There were witches with large pointy hats and robes trimmed in fancy patterns looking through floating racks of robes and clothing, wizards with long beards floating at their waists so as to not drag the ends of them on the dirty ground at their feet, and small children running around from shop to shop with all kinds of magical creations in their hands.

"Ah, here's the group!" Tonks announced, pointing to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour.

Robin turned around and blew out a sigh of relief at the sight of Tonks' bright yellow hair and the two birthday kids at her side.

"Thank you so much Tonks!" Robin thanked, leaning down and hugging Harry at her side. "Are you going to be joining us for the day?"

"I don't see why not!" Tonks said, a mischievous smile growing on her face as she eyed Remus. Remus groaned and smacked his palm against his forehead at the look she was giving him. "It seems like you will be needing some excitement in this dull group."

Robin chuckled and nudged Remus' shoulder playfully.

"Oh I don't know, even without you,  _Dora_ , Robin can be up to no good as well." Remus sarcastically muttered.

"Well, you need more than just a Marauder to do some good ol' fashioned fun!" She eyed the Weasley twins, sensing their need for mischief. "Who wants to go to Gambol and Japes!"

Fred, George, Romi, and Astrid cheered loudly. Harry laughed as Tonks grabbed the twins hands and dashed towards the joke shop on the corner. Remus chuckled, despite his obvious dissapproval.

"Merlin, it's like having him back again!" Remus muttered.

"Except female, and attracted to you." Robin said with a wink.

"Did I tell you about the time that Sirius proceeded to grab me and shove me in the "kissing cupboard" because he believed all his chances with you were gone and down the drain?" Remus said, grimacing at the memory.

"Oh my," Robin chuckled, losing herself in the nostalgia, despite the voice screaming  _NO_ _!_ in the back of her mind. "I do recall such a thing."

"Oh! The rumor that Sirius and Remus were poofers together!" Marlene butted in with a wide smile, "I  _do_ remember that!"

"And how Sirius kept  _playing along_ with it!" Remus exclaimed, wringing his hands.

Harry and Lynn looked o each other and smiled.

"Do you want to go and join the fun?" Harry asked, looking over at Ron, who was the only one left since the other kids had proceeded to join Tonks and the others.

"Yeah sure!" Ron cheered.

"Harry," Lynn spoke up as they stepped away from the adults, "what do you think about, er..."

"Sirius?" Harry chimed in.

"Sirius Black! The murderer?!" Ron exclaimed.

"Murderer? Who did he kill?" Lynn yelled.

"Mum said he killed  _twelve_ muggles!" Ron answered, his face paling significantly.

Harry and Lynn looked at each other worriedly.

"He's my godfather." Harry said.

"Really?!" Ron exclaimed again. "How do you know?"

"He married Aunt Robin," Lynn answered for Harry. "But, I don't know, I have this odd feeling about it. Something doesn't seem right."

"I sense that too," Harry chimed in, "from the pictures in the house, it doesn't make sense for someone so cheery and bright like that to get locked up in Azkaban for killing muggles."

Lynn shrugged as they entered the joke shop. The mood between the three of them shifted as the twins started showing them all the different kinds of stuff they were looking at. The group of them probably spent an hour just laughing and testing out the products before they all left, a huddle of children around Tonks in the middle, with bags full of stuff.

As they went from shop to shop, it became a game for Tonks to test out her products on Remus. The first thing was a simple firecracker bomb that she had stuffed in his coat pocket. Everyone laughed violently as Remus had screamed and jumped at the exploding device. He had growled and yelled, but the kids all got a kick out of it by the glimmer of mischief in his eyes.

Next was voice enhancing bubblegum that Robin had helped trick him into taking, after he had tried to eat a sandwich and Tonks had put an edible dung bomb in it. Romi had peed his pants at how high Remus' voice had gotten when he screamed at Tonks.

Finally Remus was able to get back at her with a Marauder specialty: the dungbombs. He had somehow gotten a dungbomb in the hood of her sweater that exploded as she had tried to put it on over her head. Robin officially ended their war when Ron had tried to sneak a mini dungbomb into Astrid's pocket and she was able to get it out in time and down his pants in time for it to explode. 

Luna, Ginny, Astrid, and Lynn all cheered when Robin led them to Twilfitt and Tattings to look at the high brand clothing. Ginny had never been able to step inside, which gave Lynn more of a reason to want to go in and look inside. The shop was small on the outside, but as they stepped inside, it seemed to grow and unfold before their eyes. There were hangers and aisles floating above the ground with other witches shifting through the clothes. 

"Alright, stay inside the shop, but you can all split up and look around!" Robin announced, much to the girls' glee and excitement.

Lynn rushed forward and weaved through the different aisles, shifting through the beautiful robes and dresses. There was muggle style clothes there as well, for other occasions, as well as fancy dress robes. Lynn was so entranced in finding an aisle for her own size, that she didn't notice she had bumped into a figure.

"Oh sorry!" She called out to the blonde haired individual.

She suddenly grinned as the figure turned around and scowled at her. The scowl disappeared and was replaced with a shocked look.

"Lynnette?" 

"Hullo Draco!" Lynn greeted with an inviting smile. "What are you doing here!"

He looked around frantically, his grey eyes wide.

"What is it?" Lynn asked, before Draco dragged her towards a corner where a stand of dragon skinned pants were displayed. 

Draco suddenly beamed a bright smile. He made a jerky movement, almost like he was going to hug her, but backed away last minute.

"I am glad to see you," he whispered, "I've been surrounded by  _idiots_ all summer!" 

"You're glad to see me?" Lynn asked, awed at that fact, since Draco seemed to be a very off-putting person naturally, "But you hardly know me!"

"That's right..." Draco mused, his blonde brows scrunching in a way that he was told made him look like his father, so he tried to repeat this look on occasion. "I-I don't know why, but talking to you in the robes shop that one time..." He paused and flushed slightly. "You promise not to tell anyone?"

"Who would I tell?" Lynn chuckled, holding out her pinky.

"What  _are_ you doing?" Draco exclaimed, staring ghastly at her pinky.

"A pinky promise! It's, well, a muggle thing-"

"My father says that muggles aren't to be talked to." Draco said without thinking.

He suddenly flushed at the look on Lynn's face.

"Do you not like them? What's wrong with muggles?" Lynn asked.

Draco was about to speak, something about what Lucius Malfoy had once told him, but he suddenly stopped. Lynn had her brow raised and a scowl on her face. Something stopped him from speaking, and he didn't know what, but he didn't like the idea of saying something to upset this mysterious girl anymore.

"I-I don't really know honestly. My father told me that they are uncivilized..." He muttered, glancing at the ground intently.

"I was raised by muggles," Lynn muttered, crossing her arms over her chest. "Do I look uncivilized to you?"

Draco's normally pale face flushed even darker a shade of red and he glanced up at her face. He couldn't help the thought that came to his head,  _I definitely thought she was pureblooded the first time I met her_. 

"But I was going to say, that you don't seem to be that way..." Draco mumbled, feeling somewhat ashamed.

Lynn couldn't help but smile slightly at his comment and the scared look on his face.

"You know, you shouldn't judge people unless you've seen them for yourself." Lynn said, slowly lowering her arms from her chest.

Draco stared at her for a second, processing this thought in his head. He didn't know why this girl was making his mind twist and turn, but he couldn't help it. He started to remember what his mother had said to him on that  _awful night_.

His mother had always struck Draco as different than his father. Even though he had heard countless stories of how they were in the "Great and Mighty House of Slytherin" together and got married years later, he couldn't help but notice how different his mother was than his father. He had grown up with the impression that Slytherin was the only House. But then he had found out about his mother's sister and how she had married a Mudblood Hufflepuff, bringing the family distress. And he could never forget the argument about Sirius Black, the  _Gryffindor_. 

He thought there had been only one House to be Sorted into (even though Lucius said it would be  _acceptable_ to be a brainy Ravenclaw, it just wouldn't be  _ideal_ ), but his mother had told him differently. She had told him stories that he was pretty sure father never knew were being shared with him. Stories of  _Uncle_ Sirius and  _Aunt_ Andromeda and her husband  _Uncle_ Teddy. 

But on  _that_ night, mother had told Draco that they were going to say hi to Aunt Andromeda and Uncle Teddy. Draco had the  _best_ strawberry shortcake in his seven years of life. Not even Dobby could have perfected it! He loved talking to his cousin Tonks (she yelled at him for calling her Nymphadora) and seeing who she could impersonate. Aunt Andromeda would smile at him and Uncle Teddy asked him so many questions and showed him all of his cool muggle contraptions. 

But the night didn't end as nicely as he and mother had hoped. They came home to see father drinking and yelling at the house elfs. Lucius quickly rounded on Narcissa, demanding answers as to why she was talking and associating with "those filthy blood traitors and the mudblood". Draco had tried to interfere, because his mother was crying and screaming, but Lucius already had his wand out and sent a curse smacking him into the wall.

He had woken up the next morning to find out that he wad to have a personal tutor, named Severus Snape, and that he wouldn't be seeing his lovely aunt, uncle, and cousin again. His mom was never really the same, but when his father wasn't looking, she would smile at him and tell him more stories but making him promise to keep them secret.

"Draco?" Lynn interrupted the rabbit trail his mind went on, "Are you alright?"

He nodded his head yes and smiled slightly. 

"Sorry about that, and I'm s-sorry about the m-muggle comments. They sometimes slip out..." He apologized, feeling sort of stupid.

Lynn scrunched her brow and stared at him quizzically.

"I forgive you, what did you want me to promise not to tell?" She said, grinning as she held up her pinky again.

Draco couldn't help but grin at her brandished pinky again.

"How does a _pinky promise_ work?" He asked intensely.

Lynn giggled and wrapped her pinky around his.

"You shake on it, but with pinkies! Like this." She said, shaking his hand with her pinky wrapped around his.

He chuckled as she parted her pinky from his.

"Well, as I was saying," he said, grinning a little harder, but also slightly nervous, "I guess, I just feel comfortable around you. Even though I don't, er, know you that well." He scratched the back of his neck nervously. "If that makes any sense...the other kids I know, they aren't like you. They are," he paused and chuckled. "they are just plain idiots really. They like to follow me around like they are lost puppies and I'm the master. It's weird..."

Lynn smiled brightly at this.

"I think that was a  _compliment_ , Draco!"

Draco flushed and stared down at his toes.

"Oh stop-"

Suddenly from around the corner came a woman with blonde hair just like Draco's. She looked worried, but her face calmed at the sight of Draco and she let out a sigh. She rushed towards Draco and wrapped her arms around him.

"Draco! I thought you got lost!" She said, barely above a whisper.

"I'm fine mother." Draco assured, smiling at her, but feeling slightly embarrassed at being hugged in front of Lynn. 

The woman, Narcissa Malfoy, turned to Lynn and smiled a small smile at her.

"Hullo, I'm Narcissa, and you are?"

"Lynnette," Lynn introduced, shaking Narcissa's outstretched hand, "Lynnette Lupin."

Narcissa's brows raised at her name.

"You must be the daughter of Remus Lupin then, I presume?" She asked.

"Y-Yes, how did-"

"I have my ways," she mysteriously said, "I knew my cousin's friends quite well."

"Who was your cousin?" Lynn asked.

"Sirius was a marvelous story teller." She said with a nostalgic smile. "I would love to tell you more in depth, but I must be leaving soon. My husband expects us home for dinner soon."

Draco straightened up at that. It was his and Narcissa's code word for danger. Draco smiled at Lynn, finding it amusing to see Lynn squint her eyes curiously at Draco's sudden shift in posture.  _She's smart too... definitely not some stupid muggleborn like father says._  

"It was nice seeing you, Lynn. Maybe we can see each other again?" Draco asked.

"Yeah! You will be attending Hogwarts?" Lynn asked.

"Of course," Draco snorted. "I will see you soon."

"Goodbye!" Lynn waved as the two blonde's scurried out the back doors of the shop.

Draco's grin was wiped off of his face as his mother pulled his hand forward.

"What's wrong mother?" Draco asked, suddenly scared.

She didn't respond, just kept tugging him ahead. They finally turned a corner into Knockturn alley. Draco always hated the dark alley, no matter how many times Lucius tugged him down there, sometimes to parade the fact that the Malfoy's were just there and that he had a son to show off. Narcissa turned a corner to a familiar shop that Draco recognized. He and his mother visited this shop only in emergencies.

It was an abandoned shop, once belonging to a family of Seers who would tell people their most gruesome and twisted futures. But they were driven out after losing profit, and the abandoned shop became a home base for Narcissa to contact people she most desperately needed to whenever she was in trouble. She picked up a round glass and rubbed her hand around it to awaken it. It glowed a silver color and buzzed to life in Narcissa's hands.

"Severus!" She hissed as she could hear people laughing down the street.

Draco shivered and pulled a blind over the cracked window.

"Severus, we need you  _now_." Narcissa pleaded.

Suddenly the glass glowed gold. Narcissa gasped as another sharp laugh filled the air outside. The fireplace next to her came to life, the green flames crackling to her immense relief. Draco felt a little better as his tutor and her mother's confident stepped out of the flames.

"What is it, Narcissa?" He asked in his bored drawl, but Draco could hear the hinted subtle sound of worry in his voice.

"Has Lucius spoken to you about me? Anything at all?" She asked, almost on her knees.

"Nothing really, what do you need to know specifically? What have you done?" Severus hissed out the last question so Draco couldn't hear.

Narcissa looked at Draco for a second.

"Draco, would you mind going into the back room? I promise I'll explain later, okay darling?" She pleaded.

Draco wanted to fight, he wanted to know what was going on to make his mother so worried. But the look in her eyes stopped him. He nodded his head, rather grimly, and walked into the back room where he could hear Severus put a spell on the door so he wouldn't overhear the adult conversation.

Severus looked to Narcissa and pulled a chair out for her.

"What's going on, Narcissa?"

Narcissa started to sob. Her pale hands were covering her face as her body shook from the tears raking over her body.

Severus felt uncomfortable as he placed a hand, rather uncomfortably, on her elbow.

"Are you-"

"Severus, do you remember how I told you that Lucius said he didn't want anything else to do with me? But he was only keeping me f-for-" she stopped, shuddering and gasping.

"Yes, I remember the blonde brat saying that he didn't want the public to talk about the two of you. What does this have to do-"

"Lucius told me I could have other people," she blurted out, "he didn't want to have me, or any children with me. He was already having other women..." She started to cry again.

Severus didn't need to say anything, he already had a hunch about what this could be about.

"When did it happen and who was it?" Severus asked.

"I'm not sure!" She wailed, "that's the worst part! I don't know the father!"

Severus nodded his head, slightly uncomfortable at the topic, but trying to push through for the sake of the crying woman in front of him.

"Why have you called me here, other than someone to confide in?"

"I have already confided in someone," Narcissa whispered, not looking Severus in the eye.

Severus whipped his head over, his dark eyes wide.

"Lucius will have your  _head_!" Severus hissed.

"I know!" Narcissa wailed, "but he doesn't need to know-"

"How is it going to work if Lucius Malfoy finds out that I have been keeping it secret that you have been off confiding in your blood traitor of a sister?!"

"She's my  _sister_ , Severus! I can't just go to Bella! Even if she wasn't in Azkaban, who in their right mind who confide in her?!" Narcissa exclaimed.

Severus shut his eyes and counted to ten in his head to slow his breathing down.

"What do you want me to do?"

"I need you to make sure Lucius never finds out about it, about me visiting her-"

"You're going to be visiting her  _more_?!" Severus exclaimed.

"Yes! She's the only one I can trust, beside you and Draco. I will go and tell Lucius about the pregnancy, I can handle that punishment. I just need him to be in the dark about my confinement in Andy." Narcissa said, pressing her palms together.

"Please, will you do this for me?"

"There's something else, isn't there?" Severus asked, raising his brow delicately.

Narcissa's breathing hitched and she glanced down at the ground.

"Y-Yes..." She muttered, sitting down again.

They waited in silence for a couple of seconds before Narcissa shifted.

"I believe Draco is going to be Sorted into Gryffindor."

Severus hadn't been expecting that. Yes, he had somehow known that Draco wouldn't be in Slytherin, like his father and the rest of the bloodthirsty Malfoy and Black line, but of all Houses, it had to be  _Gryffindor_.

"Why do you say that?"

Narcissa looked up and smiled.

"Because he's like me."

Severus scrunched his brow.

"The Sorting Hat wanted me in Gryffindor, Severus." Narcissa whispered. "But I was  _so_ scared, I didn't want to be the first Black to be put in Gryffindor. So I pleaded to be put in Slytherin." She chuckled. "But Sirius had to go and steal that title, and then Andy married Teddy. It made me realize that I was pretending to be someone I was not, and I  _do not_ want that for my boy." She had a scowl on her face as she stood up.

Severus had been scared of Lily Evans before, but it was different being compared to Narcissa Black-Malfoy.

"I don't want my boy corrupted like I was."

"And you want me to do something..." Severus muttered, joining the dots together.

"Make sure he's okay at Hogwarts. Please, I know your prejudice hatred for Gryffindors, but please find it in your heart to care for Draco- who doesn't deserve to be treated horridly for his last name in a House that may or may not accept him." Narcissa pleaded.

Severus took a deep breath.

"Always, for you, Narcissa."

 

~~~~~~~

 

As Draco had left through the back door, Lynn heard someone cough behind her. She turned around curiously to see a frizzy haired girl in front of her. She knew immediately this girl was a muggleborn. She was wearing muggle clothes and there was no robes or wand on her. She also looked rather nervous as she eyed the moving mannequin.

"H-Hullo there, you said you and that  _boy_ " she hissed when she mentioned Draco, "are going to H-Hogwarts?"

Lynn smiled and nodded her head.

"Yeah I am! Draco is too." Lynn answered.

The girl pursed her lips at the mention of Draco.

"He said that muggles are  _uncivilized_ , why are you defending him when you said you were raised by muggles?" The girl, who Lynn could tell had a lot of questions that needed answers, asked.

"If you overheard that, then you would have overheard him apologizing to me after I told him off." Lynn said, raising her brow.

The girl blushed and looked down sheepishly.

"No, I-I didn't, I got distracted by a woman talking about buying a wand and I needed to know where to buy mine..."

"I can show you! I still need to buy mine!" Lynn offered.

The girl grinned and nodded her head.

"That's very kind of you, thanks!" She extended her hand, "I'm Hermione Granger."

"It's nice to meet you Hermione, I'm Lynnette Lupin." Lynn greeted with a smile.

Suddenly Ginny, Astrid, and Luna came running from around the corner with Robin in tow.

"Where were you this whole time, Lynn!" Ginny exclaimed, eyeing Hermione.

"This is Hermione everyone," Lynn introduced, extending her hand out at Hermione, "Hermione, this is Ginny Weasley, Luna Lovegood, and Astrid and her mom (my aunt) Robin Black-Lupin." 

"It's nice to meet you all!" Hermione greeted, shaking everyone's hands.

Suddenly two obvious looking muggle parents walked around a corner towards Hermione.

"Hermione! There you are!" The woman called out.

"Mum," Hermione said to the woman, "these people are going to show me where to get my wand!"

"Oh really!" The man said with a grin. "I'm Bill Granger, this is my wife, Jean." He extended his hand out to Robin, the obvious parent in vicinity.

"I'm Robin Lupin, nice to meet you, Bill and Jean." Robin greeted, shaking their outstretched hands. "Do you want to follow us to the wand shop?"

"Sure thing! We are very excited to be seeing the magical world more and understanding who our daughter is." Jean said with a bright smile.

Hermione grinned up at her parents, making Lynn smile at the acceptance between them all.

"We could even do dinner at The Leaky Cauldron, get to know each other a bit. I take it young Hermione is attending Hogwarts this fall?" Robin offered as they walked to the front of the shop and out the doors.

"Why yes, Hermione got her letter a couple of weeks ago and a kind teacher at the school came and explained everything to us about the magical world and whatnot." Bill said as Lynn spotted Harry and Ron up ahead with a bickering Remus and Tonks.

Harry grinned when he saw them, curious as to who the other girl was alongside Lynn and Astrid.

"Harry," Lynn said, pointing to Hermione, "This is Hermione Granger, Hermione, this is Harry."

"It's nice to meet you Harry." Hermione greeted, shaking his hand.

Harry grinned and shook her hand as well. "It's good to meet you as well, Hermione."

"Have you all gotten your wands yet?" Robin asked.

"No, we were about to go inside." Remus said, opening the door to Ollivander's.

They all formed a line, watching as the person at the beginning of the line, which happened to be Neville, get their wand. It took Neville a solid ten minutes to find his wand, he kept breaking glass behind Ollivander's head with each and every wand. Astrid was next, which only took two wands to find the correct one. Robin beamed at her as she admired her Ebony wand. Romi took three different tries until he finally settled on a chestnut wood. Hermione was nervous as Ollivander gave her the first wand, which she slammed several cases shut behind Ollivander. But it only took four tries to find the right one for Hermione, which ended up being a vine wood with a dragon heart string.

Lynn jumped as Remus settled a hand on her shoulder and smiled at her.

"It's going to be alright, love. Your wand will be special just for you, so it doesn't matter how long it takes to find yours."

Lynn nodded her head and hugged Remus's side.

She walked up to the counter and smiled shyly up at Ollivander. He grinned back at her.

"Hullo, miss Lupin, my my how uncanny you resemble your mother." 

Lynn grinned wider as he reached behind the counter and grabbed a light colored looking wand. Lynn grabbed it and gave it a whirl, disappointed to see that this wand had barely any power to it at all, she couldn't even move a feather off of Ollivander's desk.

"Here, let's try this one." Ollivander said, grabbing a darker toned wand.

Lynn grabbed it and immediately knew this one wasn't for her either. It was  _too_ powerful, making a vase explode behind Jean Granger's head. Lynn grimaced and apologized as Ollivander grabbed a wand from the back room.

"Here, now, try this one."

As Lynn grabbed it, she giggled as a sudden rush of energy filled her body. Glitter seemed to pour out of the end of the wand in glorious light that shimmered on the ceiling.

"Ah, the beech unicorn hair, 12 and a quarter is it then? Your mother had a beech wood wand as well." Ollivander said as he placed Lynn's wand in a box.

"Really?" Lynn asked, looking from Remus to Ollivander.

"Why yes, she was as bright eyed as you were as well." Ollivander said with a grin, as he looked up at Remus. "She has your eyes, Remus, and the same Unicorn core."

Lynn grinned up at Remus as he pulled her aside for Harry to get his wand.

Ginny and Luna, who weren't able to go to Hogwarts yet, started peppering Lynn with questions about her wand. Lynn watched as Harry tested two other wands, going onto a third. He ended up knocking over Ollivander's lamp off of his desk (which Remus fixed for him). It took three more tries, so six in total, to finally get a wand for him. But as Ollivander came out of the back room, he had a strange look in his eye.

Harry grabbed the wand and immediately, light filled the room and glowed all around Harry's frame. 

"Interesting, very interesting..." Ollivander started mumbling.

"What's interesting?" Robin asked, settling a protective hand on Harry's shoulder.

"I remember every single wand I've sold, Mr. Potter, Mrs. Black," Robin huffed at her married name, "it so happens, that the phoenix, who's tail feather resides in your wand, gave another feather. Just one feather. It is curious that  _you_ should be destined for this wand when its brother gave you that scar."

Remus paled, Robin tensed, Tonks gasped, and Lynn, Astrid, Ron, and Romi all paled and glanced at one another.

After getting the wands, there was a bit of tension in the air. Lynn gripped Harry's hand and smiled encouragingly at him. Harry was troubled, the dark wizard that had killed his parents and tried to kill him had the same wand as him?  _What does that mean?!_ Harry pondered over and over again.

As everyone piled into the Leaky Cauldron for dinner, Robin pulled Harry aside.

"Hey Harry, I want you to know that you're okay. Do you believe that?"

Harry nodded his head.

"It doesn't matter that you and, You-Know-Who, have the same wand. You aren't him in any way, so you shouldn't even let that thought enter your mind. You're going to be a great wizard. So do great things with the greatness of your wand and your magic." Robin encouraged with a smile.

Harry smiled and hugged Robin tightly.

"Thank you Robin." Harry thanked.

"You're welcome, Harry." Robin said, beaming as they walked back to the table to join the conversation that Tonks had begun about how odd Remus would look if he had different ears.

 

~~~~~~~~

 

A couple of nights later, Robin had a strange dream. 

In the dream, she was surrounded by darkness. She didn't know where she was, all that she could see was this pitch black abyss and a cold wind surrounded her. She was shivering and freezing, icicles seemed to hang off of her billowing robes and elbows. She called out for someone, anyone to help her. But as she tried to move forward, she found that her ankles were chained and she couldn't move.

She started to scream, but that's when she heard a sob not too far away from her. She turned her head and she could see the faint outline of someone slumped over and huddled up in a ball on the floor. She tried to scoot over to the person, but couldn't get any closer. Suddenly a wall formed behind the person, a grey wall with tally marks covering the whole thing. 

Suddenly she was in a jail cell, but the darkness still surrounded the figure. She gasped as she could see familiar black hair and a familiar voice call out.

" _L-L-Liiily... J-Jaaaames..."_

She felt a sob crawl up her throat as the figure tried to sit up, his face covered by the wet and greasy black hair that used to fly freely behind him in younger years. The figure reached up with a hand that instantly transformed into a familiar paw of a dog. He started to etch another tally mark onto the wall  _covered_ from head to toe in tally marks. He slumped over again, as his paw transformed into a human, bloody hand. He sobbed, but if sounded strangled and almost like a cough.

" _R-Reeeeem.... M-M-Mitteeeens..."_

Suddenly Robin bolted awkake with a strangled scream. She was covered in sweat and tears were pouring down her face, getting into her mouth and creating a salty taste mixed with blood from possibly biting her tongue. Suddenly the door bursted open and Remus ran inside.

"Robi? What's wrong?" He muttered, plopping down on the bed.

Robin began to cry. Memories started infiltrating her mind and her conscious to the point where it was unbearable. His smile, his face when he looked at her was all she could think about. His laugh when he was up to no good, and that god awful smirk that sent butterflies sweeping through Robin's stomach every time he aimed it at her.

"Robin? You're scaring me-" Remus muttered, wrapping an arm around his sister's thin shoulders.

"I-I need to see him."

"Who, Robi?"

"Dumbledore, I need to see if I can see him." Robin muttered, getting up and out of bed.

"What does that mean? About what?" Remus asked as Robin wrapped a robe around her waist and walked towards the fireplace. "Robin! We can't go  _now-_ "

Robin threw the floo powder forward and stepped through the fireplace. Remus cursed, wiped a hand over his face, and walked through the flames as well. Robin was pleased to see that Dumbledore was still awake and sitting at his desk.

"Ah, Robin, Remus, what seems to be the matter?" Dumbledore greeted, grabbing a lemon drop and plopping it on his tongue.

"I need to see Sirius, Dumbledore." Robin bluntly said, not sitting down before her former Headmaster.

Dumbledore almost choked on the lemon drop, but smiled up at Robin.

"I thought you might ask that. Why do you want to see him? What's your reasoning for going and seeing him after all these years?" Dumbledore questioned.

"I just had a dream, a warning. I just  _need_ to see for my own eyes what he's like, if he's-"

"Innocent, perhaps?" Dumbeldore finished the sentence for her.

"Robin, you can't just go there and expect to see him sipping tea with dementors! He's probably insane by now!" Remus exclaimed.

"I need to see for myself!" Robin screamed, officially done with it all. "I need to see my  _husband_ , dare I call him that, with my very own eyes."

Dumbledore regarded her for a few seconds, before reaching for a quill. He started writing on a piece of parchment quickly.

"What is that-" Robin questioned.

Dumbledore got up and handed the parchment to Fawkes. The phoenix made a shrill pleased sound and flew out the window of Dumbledore's window.

"That was my confirmation to the Warden at Azkaban that I will be taking some extra company to my appointment on Friday morning." Dumbledore said, smiling as he sat down.

"What?!" Remus exclaimed.

"You were going to go and judge for yourself." Robin said. "Do you think he's innocent?" She questioned.

"My darling, I hardly know anything." Dumbledore said. "I'll meet you Friday morning for the appointment."

 

Friday couldn't come any closer, Robin though with anticipation. She couldn't sleep, couldn't eat with the knowledge of anything being possible with her husband. Or whatever was left of him. She didn't tell anyone else, beside Remus, about her appointment to the prison. But Astrid was the only one to speak up and question her.

Robin had been doing the dishes solemnly when Astrid walked in and plopped herself up on the counter.

"Mum," she began, "you are never moody. You are always smiling and joking around. But when you  _are_ moody, it's always to do with Sir- dad." She paused as Robin flinched at the name. "What's going on? Is it something to do with dad?"

Robin felt a tear dribble down her cheek as she broke and craddled Astrid to her chest. She cried for what felt like hours into her daughter's hair.

"There's a reason I wasn't put in Gryffindor," she mumbled, "I'm just not brave enough honey. I  _need_ to face the truth, but I  _can't_." 

"Mum," Astrid said, her brow scrunched, "you're one of the strongest women I know; you put up with me for Merlin's sake!"

Robin laughed, despite the tears and reminder of Sirius bloody Black, and tucked a piece of her unruly hair behind her ear.

"You are so much like him. It will be the world's end if you aren't in Gryffindor, just like him."

Astrid grinned and hugged her mom.

"You can face him, mummy, you've got this."

Robin remembered this as she met Dumbledore in his office with Remus at her side. She was wearing dark robes so not to attract any attention from the dementors. Dumbledore smiled sweetly at her and motioned for the fireplace.

"We will floo to a village near the island, we just have to row a boat out to the island." Dumbledore confirmed.

Remus placed a hand on Robin's back as she stepped through the flames into the floo into the village's pub. Dumbledore led the way to the docks where a sketchy looking man led them to where a decent sized paddle boat was hooked up. Remus helped her into the boat and took an oar, while Dumbledore took the other.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Remus asked as they paddled out to the middle of the lake.

"I-I'm fine." Robin muttered, staring into the dark waters of the lake below them.

She could already feel the gloom from the dementors from here.

"Let me do the talking when we get there," Dumbledore said as they spotted the dock ahead. "they will be wanting to negotiate with me since I made the appointment in the first place."

Robin nodded her head as they finished the paddling and came up onto the shores of Azkaban prison. They walked up a set of steps carved into the mountain's side up to the gates into the prison. Two aurors stood guarding the doors to Robin's surprise. They stepped forward and did wand checks over all of them, asking their official business.

They quickly allowed them through at the mention of Dumbledore's name. Dumbledore just merely smiled at them as they walked into the cold prison. Another auror met them inside, babbling on about the effects of the dementors and to "not antagonize them". They had to check their wands in, give a full ID check, and confirm their business onto the grounds. 

"So you're married to a prisoner here, Mrs. Black?" The auror asked Robin.

"Yes." She answered plainly, glowering at a spot on the wall, trying not to get worked up.

"You will leave any purse or belongings here so as not to assist the prisoner in an escape. Do you understand these terms?" The auror asked, setting her wand in a drawer.

Robin clenched her fists and nodded her head. She had to give up her purse, and almost her robes, but Dumbledore stood up for her and drew the line. Finally, the auror grabbed his wand and motioned for them to follow. Robin felt a buzz of something fill her body.  _Excitement? Fear? Disgust? Anger?_ It was a combination of it all as she passed by cells filled with screaming and moaning inmates. 

She shuddered as she recognized some names and faces, especially the cackling Bellatrix Lestrange. But she kept marching forward. She was surprised to find that Sirius' cell was close to Bellatrix's, possibly because of their relation. 

"Hey! Blood traitor!" She screamed suddenly.

Robin flinched and glanced up at Bellatrix, who was staring with creepy wide brown eyes at her.  _She looks out of her mind!_ She commented in her mind as the auror muttered something about putting up a shield charm so that Sirius wouldn't be able to see us, but we would see him.

"I'm talking to you! The one who stole the heart of my dear dear cousin." Bellatrix called out again.

Robin looked over again, to her horror, and gulped.

"He never screams," she said with a cackle. "he just sits there! Can't you believe it? Even when the walls drip in blood and everyone screams, he just sits there!" She started howling with laughter, rattling the bars of her cell.

Suddenly she stopped and stood up, her eyes clear as she glared at Robin.

"You stole him. You and that  _Potter_. You were just the final straw, you  _bitch_. How can he serve  _my_ master when he served you? He's no follower of  _my_ Lord! My Lord!" Bellatrix started screaming shrilly.

"Bella!" A hoarse voice called out, to Robin's surprise. She gasped and almost tumbled over. "Shut up about your  _dead_ master!"

Bellatrix started screaming curses and rattled the cells so violently, she attracted the attention of a dementor over. She screamed and cowered in the corner of her cell.

Robin rushed forward to where Dumbledore stood in front of Sirius' cell. There, in front of her, was her husband. He looked  _awful_. His beautiful gleaming brown eyes were dull and surrounded by puffy, dark bags. His skin was ashen and he was sweaty and pale. His gorgeous hair was ratty and greasy, hanging longer than it ever had around his shoulders, almost down to his elbows. His normal stubble was reduced to a full beard that hid his smirk from view.

Robin let out a sob as she observed his appearance. He glanced over in their direction and crunched his brow at them.

"Milton! Is that you with another damned shield charm?!" Sirius called out.

Robin wanted to call out to him, but the auror, Milton, had enhanced it so that Dumbledore's, Remus', and Robin's voices wouldn't get through.

"Shut up, Black." Milton called out.

Sirius chuckled and laid himself out, showing off his ratty uniform, into a pose on the floor.

"Is this angle good enough for your pretentious guests to observe my well-being?!" He called out sassily, a fire of rage in his voice.

"He's a sassy one, he is." Milton grumbled.

Robin couldn't help her emotions anymore. She watched as Sirius propped himself back against his far corner wall. She gasped again as she recognized the wall in her dream. Just like in her dream, the wall was covered in tick marks. That's when it dawned on her:  _they are the number of days he's been in here_. 

"Only an innocent man would..." she muttered, stopping at her revelation.

"What was that, Robi?" Remus whispered.

Suddenly it felt like the walls were crushing her and her breathing was going haywire. She couldn't breathe as her mind wandered a mile a minute.  _He's innocent... he's innocent... he didn't kill Peter... he didn't give away James and Lily...he didn't deserve-_

"Robin? Are you alright?" Dumbledore questioned.

"Du-Dumbledore, h-he's innocent." She whispered.

"What did she say?" Milton asked, no one noticing how Sirius glanced over at the shield charm.

"He's innocent Dumbledore, he's  _sane_! Look at him! He's counting down the days! D-Dumbledore!-" Robin started to panic.

"Robin, it's okay-" Remus muttered, holding her steady.

But instead, Robin leaped out of his arms and started shaking Dumbledore's robes violently.

"HE'S INNOCENT! DUMBLEDORE! HE'S INNOCENT!" She started to scream.

"Mrs. Black! Excuse me, but you need to leave-"

"Mrs. Black?!" Sirius yelled, "ROBIN?!" Sirius screamed, getting up on wobbly legs.

"SIRIUS BLACK IS INNOCENT!" Robin screamed again as Remus pulled her towards the stairs.

Robin tried to squirm out of his grasp as Milton was keeping a dementor at bay. She found her chance and bit Remus' arm. He let go and she leaped forward towards Sirius' cell. She grabbed the bars and stared into Sirius' eyes in front of her. He was grasping the same bars and looking straight through her, his eyes going everywhere in search of her.

"Sirius! Sirius I believe you! I believe you Sirius!" She screamed as Remus grabbed her again and hauled her forward.

She started to sob as she could hear the sobs and cries of her innocent husband calling her name.

 


	7. Chapter 6: Hogwarts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All of the kids start their first year at Hogwarts- but which House are they Sorted in? And what enemy lines are drawn?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a bit shorter, but I hope you enjoy! It's a bit centered around Draco, but I feel that was important to portray for this chapter.

**Chapter 6: Hogwarts:**

 

_Tap tap taptaptap tap tap_

Draco scolded his features to stay neutral. He had been able to do this for years, _why was it so hard to now?_ He pondered this to himself as the tapping ensued. He snuck a glance out of his peripheral vision to see Lucius tapping his cane diligently as ever. He sat at the head of the table, his breakfast laid out before him, not even touched. He was glaring ahead, right above Narcissa's head, who was straight across from him.

Narcissa, on the other hand, was sitting up straight but with her head down and trained on the breakfast before her. She took slow and deliberate bites and never once looked up. Draco was placed in the middle of his parents at the table, like usual when his father was upset with his mother. In the past, Draco never knew why his father was so easily irritated with his wife. But this time, to Draco's horror, he _knew_.

He was so glad to have found a section of the wall where Severus hadn't put the silencing charm so that he could listen in on what his mother had to say. He had heard it all, from her being pregnant with another (unknown) man's child, to her confession of almost being Sorted into Gryffindor and her fear of Draco's fate.

Draco, literally, felt in the middle of both of his parents in this moment. He had grown up, trained by his father to hold his head high and be prideful of his ancestry of hateful Slytherin's. He was trained at a young age that people who weren't like them were peasants to be spit on, that muggles and muggleborn witches and wizards were utter garbage human beings and shouldn't be given a chance to have the possibilities that pureblooded wizards had. Draco had been trained to believe that the other Houses at Hogwarts were unimportant, and that if he just so happened to be Sorted any other way he would be kicked out from the family.

But then his mother, his kind mother who was so very brave for him, would put bandaids on his scratches and scars from his training with his father. She would share pleasant things with him, that there was so much more in the world than the pureblood agenda and hating muggles. She started to train within him that people deserve chances, and to not judge so quickly. 

So now he was caught in the middle of what to choose. Will he choose the safe side and not get kicked out of his own home and side with his father and his ways... or would he listen to that soft voice that whispered in his ear to do better than this and actually go with what  _he_ wanted and felt? That wasn't something else that Narcissa Malfoy had taught Draco, that he should listen to himself and not let people make those decisions for you. She said it with such passion, that it made Draco believe that maybe she hadn't been given those opportunities to think for herself.

Draco chanced a glance in his mother's direction and made eye contact with her soft brown eyes. She allowed a small smile to grace her features before Lucius coughed loudly.

"Did I  _tell_ you you can look at our son?" Lucius growled.

Narcissa solemnly shook her head and continued to eat. Lucius huffed angrily and moved his gaze to Draco.

"Are you nervous?" He muttered.

Draco tried not to show surprise at his father's question.  _He rarely shows concern..._

"Well you better not be," Lucius said, "fear belongs to Hufflepuffs. Are you scared, son? Are you a _Hufflepuff_?" Lucius growled.

Draco shook his head slowly.

"Good, make your ancestors proud, boy." Lucius said, standing up and striding towards the fireplace. "We are leaving in two minutes. Get your mother to tell Dobby to get your chests." 

As Lucius left the room, Draco turned to his mother, who had already sat up and strided towards him. Draco stood up and allowed his mother to wrap her arms around his body.

"Draco, no matter what happens, I want you to know that I will  _always_ be proud of you. You can go and find Severus if you need assitance, no matter which House you're in." She instructed, rubbing her thumbs across his features.

"M-Mum-" He paused as his voice hiccuped. "I-I love you too. I'll send you owls and letters."

Narcissa made a choking sound and hugged him again.

"I'm so proud of you, son."

Draco felt lighter as he watched his mother dry her eyes and go summon Dobby. He made his decision there and then. His mother was going through hell and back for him. He would make her proud and do the same for her, he would make her proud.

 

~~~~

 

"Lynn! It's today! It's today!" Astrid's voice bellowed in Lynn's ears.

Lynn bolted awake, her eyes wide and a smile on her face. the two girls screamed together:

"HOGWARTS DAY!"

Lynn bolted up from her bed and started pulling on her new clothes she had bought for her birthday. Astrid was already dressed, but her light brown hair was a halo of tangles around her head.

"Aunt Robin's not going to settle for your hair to be that way." Lynn pointed out, brushing her own waves back.

"She can fight me!" Astrid yelled.

"I'm going to go and jump off a building if you don't get Sorted into Gryffindor, Astoria Black, I swear to Merlin-"

"Don't call me that!" Astrid screamed, running down the stairs with so much pent up energy.

Lynn chuckled, checked her reflection one last time (loving her pretty yellow jumper, her dark blue skirt, and her yellow muggle converse shoes), and ran down the stairs. She grinned as she made eye contact with Remus down at the kitchen table, chatting with a nervous looking Harry. Romi was already at the table, eating his eggs and bacon quickly as Astrid talked animatedly with him. Lynn skipped down the stairs and plopped herself down beside Harry and across from Remus.

"Good morning, are you excited?" Remus greeted with a smile and a raised brow.

"Oh yeah! I'm nervous though, but super excited to be able to use my wand!" Lynn exclaimed, brandishing her wand from her pocket.

Remus chuckled and got up to go and get another cup of coffee.

"What was your first day like, Uncle Remus?" Astrid asked curiously.

"Our first day?" Remus asked, pointing at Robin as well.

"I forget," Astrifd giggled, "you two are twins!"

"Yup, but it was a little stressful." Remus said, smiling down at Robin. "Our mum was a muggle, so she was inexperienced in this whole thing."

"Our father though, was a half blooded wizard who knew what he was doing, thank Merlin!" Robin said with a chuckle.

"We sat together in the compartments, just trying to talk about any sort of topic to get our minds off of the stress." Remus said.

"But then that's when James and S-Sirius came in," Lynn couldn't help but notice the shift in Robin's relaxed posture at Sirius' name mentioned. "and they were the life of the party."

"Peter joined later, all stuttering and scared. And then came Jeannette, who liked Robin the best out of the other girls." Remus said with a smile.

"She thought I was the better Lupin." Robin teased.

Remus shoved her shoulder.

"Hurry up all of you! The train leaves in half an hour!" Remus announced.

Lynn shoved the last of her toast in her mouth and went upstairs to grab her trunk and her owl, Kaleidoscope, or Kali for short. That was her name beforehand, but Lynn had really liked the intricacy of it. She grabbed her cage, as Remus came up and helped carry her trunk down. Marlene came through the floo to help transport things into the secret floo location in the train station. As they all got their trunks and stuff through, Romi, Robin, and Astrid stepped through. Suddenly, the floo flared to life again, and out hopped Tonks.

"Tonks!" Remus called in shock.

"Wotcher, Remus, Lynn." She greeted, "I've just come to see you all off." She said with a smile.

"Do you want to come to the station with us?" Remus offered.

"Sure thing! I don't need to be at Auror Training just yet, not until noon."

"Oh that's right! You start today!" Remus said, as he through in more floo powder and Lynn called out the stations name.

Lynn landed on the other side and waited as Remus and Tonks made their way through. Tonks beamed down at Lynn as Remus helped put Lynn's stuff on a cart.

"Are you excited?!" Tonks asked, her own enthusiasm leaking through the cracks.

"Yeah! I just really don't want to be put in Slytherin..." Lynn muttered.

"Oh don't worry," Tonks said, "you don't seem the Slytherin type." She assured.

Lynn couldn't help but think of Draco and his comments about muggles and muggleborns. That seemed like a very Slytherin response. But she couldn't get over how he had apologized for it and smiled at her.  _I hope I can see him again_...

"You ready to become a Hufflepuff?" Tonks teased, brandishing her own yellow scarf.

"I want to be in Hufflepuff, for my mum, but I also would love to be in Gryffindor, like my dad and possibly the rest of my friends." Lynn said.

Tonks got down on her knees to face her as everyone stopped in front of platform nine and three quarters.

"Do what feels right to you, Lynn. Be yourself! That's the best you you can be."

"But what if it's not the  _right_ choice?"

"You always get a choice in the matter, Lynn. I had a choice and I chose Hufflepuff! Just do what feels right, and we will all love you for being honest with yourself." Tonks assured.

They both didn't notice that Remus had been standing and listening to the two of them. He smiled at Tonks' display of affection to his daughter. It stirred a thought in the back of his mind, but he immediately squashed it down. He stepped forward, shaking his head of the thought, and held his hand out to Lynn.

"You ready?"

Harry stepped through the barrier with Romi in tow next to him. He gasped at the sight of the large train and the beautiful colors of the station around him. He glanced around at the other wizarding families waving goodbye to their children, and grinned. He had a family here to say goodbye to. Romi grinned at him and watched as Marlene walked through with little Irabella and Andrew Abott in tow. Harry watched as Marlene hugged Romi and kissed his forehead, much to the boy's annoyance.

Next through the barrier was Robin and Astrid, their eyes gleaming that mischievous glint. Robin's eyes landed on him and she motioned him forward. Harry hesitantly stepped forward and was crushed into a hug in Robin's arms. He wrapped his own arms around finally and melted into the embrace.

"I'm so excited for you two!" Robin beamed at Harry and Astrid.

Astrid nudged Harry's shoulder and grinned. Harry grinned back and watched as Tonks, Lynn, and Remus walked through. He caught sight of a red head right after Remus stepped through. He grinned to see Percy Weasley, another of Ron's eldest siblings. Finally the twins, Fred and George, ran through with wicked grins on their faces. They spotted Harry immediately.

"Hullo Harry! Romi! Astrid!" They both greeted them. "Are you firsties ready?"

They all chuckled as Ron stepped through and joined them with a wide grin.

"Are you ready to go and find a compartment?" Ron asked.

Right as Lynn joined them, they all noticed Hermione step inside. She looked scared, but as she spotted them, her face brightened and she rushed forward.

"Hullo guys! Are you all ready?!" She greeted.

"Now you lot," Robin announced, "you all better go and find a compartment before the good ones are taken!"

"We love you all! Now go and have fun!" Remus called as they all bounded up the steps of the train.

"Bye!" They all called out to their parents.

Tonks grinned as she waved goodbye to Lynn, feeling a tug at her heart strings.

"She's a sweet girl, isn't she." Tonks murmured to Remus.

"She sure is." Remus murmured back, a small smile on his lips that Tonks couldn't help but admire.

 

~~~~~~

 

Draco arrived with both of his parents in tow to the train station, right as the train blew its whistle. He faced his parents and nodded his head. He knew that his father wouldn't accept it if he showed any hint of emotion, like a public display of affection. So he barely smiled at his mother, and boarded the train. He let out a deep breath as the train jolted and started to move.

He walked by several seventh year compartments, filled to the brim with excited students all talking about their last year or the years prior. Draco was just deadset on finding a compartment, and preferably not with any of the imbecile idiots who shadowed hi all the time. He was making his way through the train, past several full compartments, when he accidentally made eye contact with Pansy Parkinson in one of them. He groaned and bolted as she jumped up from her seat and ran towards the door.

Draco didn't know where he was going, all he could think about was trying to get the hell away from that devil of a girl.

"Draco!" He heard her call as he caught sight of a familiar face.

He ripped open the compartment and hid in the corner of it. Everyone in the compartment gasped at his sudden presence, but he didn't acknowledge any of them. He could hear her heavy breathing outside and her call for him. He held his breath and watched out of the corner of his eye as she turned around and disappeared. He let out a deep sigh and looked up, suddenly nervous.

Right before him was Lynn from the shop.

"Lynn! Er, h-hi there..." He stuttered, suddenly feeling very small and nervous.

"Who's this?" Someone beside her said, a girl with straggly brown hair and a very Gryffindor gleam in her eye.

"Guys, this is Draco, Draco this is-"

"Oh I know who  _Draco_ is." A red haired boy muttered.

Draco glanced over and groaned at his luck. Of course it had to be a Weasley to ruin his need for a new start at Hogwarts by bringing up his father.

Everyone looked confused as the Weasley went on. 

"Draco is a  _Malfoy_ , his dad-"

"-is a rotten git that I am somehow related to. I _know_ that  _Weasel_ , now please don't judge me based off of his bloody decisions." Draco snapped, his grey eyes sharp.

Everyone went silent as Draco stared the Weasley down. Suddenly Lynn began to smile and clapped her hands together.

"You  _actually_  listened to me!" She exclaimed.

Draco felt his cheeks flush as Lynn scooted to make room.

"Guys, it's fine, Draco's nice! I met him twice in Diagon Alley!" Lynn explained as Draco slowly sat down.

Draco observed the group before him, noting that they would all definitely be Gryffindors. He breathed in deeply and let it out, trying to be civil, even though in the first minute he was being accused of being like his father.

"When did you first meet him?" A dark haired boy asked, glasses perched on the edge of his nose-  _wait,_ Draco thought suddenly,  _that's Harry Potter_. 

"I met him the day I spent with Remus first, before we officially met, Harry." Lynn explained, she giggled and looked at Draco again. "He told me that red wasn't my color."

Draco could see the offence in that sort of comment, and that the Weasel understood by the way his face went purple. 

"He said yellow suits me better, do you think?" Lynn commented again, oblivious to the tension building.

"I can see that." A frizzy haired girl spoke up, smiling slightly at Draco.

"Oh, how rude of me, I forgot to introduce you to everyone, Draco!" Lynn exclaimed, "in order of where everyone is sitting: this is Harry, Harry Potter. You might have heard of him-"

"Duh!" Half of the compartment exclaimed, including Draco himself.

"Anyways, this is Romulus Fields-Mckinnon, also known as Romi." Lynn pointed to a tanned skin boy with a dark afro of hair on his head.

"Next to Romi is Astoria Black-Lupin, but really her last name is Black- I don't understand why we even bother with Lupin..." Lynn trailed off. "But don't call her Astoria or she'll kill you with her bare hands. Just call her Astrid."

"This is Neville Longbottom," Lynn pointed to a shy looking boy holding a toad in his hands, "and this is Hermione Granger." Lynn pointed to the frizzy haired girl, who waved and smiled at Draco.

"And then this is Ron Weasley." Lynn pointed at the red haired Weasley.

Draco nodded his head at everyone.

"It's nice to meet you all." He greeted.

"Who were you running from?" Hermione asked, her brow scrunched.

Draco huffed out a laugh at the reminder of why he was in here.

"Pansy Parkinson, she believes she's in love with me..."

"She looks like a pug!" Ron exclaimed, clamping a hand over his mouth and gaping at Draco in horror.

"Don't worry," Draco dryly said, "my father won't be hearing about this."

"I'm sorry mate," Ron muttered, looking a little embarrassed. "I was a little too quick to judge..."

"No worries." Draco said, smiling slightly at the red haired boy.

Ron half smiled as Romi declared a rematch between Harry in an Exploding Snap game.

The entire ride to the school was actually fun, Draco thought to himself. He had a rather friendly conversation with Lynn and Hermione about muggle literature, to his astonishment. He was more astonished to be in the mindset of proving his father wrong in how smart muggles really were. He thought to himself, rather guiltily, that he would have judged the Granger girl pretty harshly to his father's standards. But it excited something inside of him to see the look in Lynn's eye as she would smile at him every time he asked Hermione a question.

Finally, they arrived at the school, Hermione directing them all to put on their robes. Draco rolled his eyes, knowing for sure that this girl would probably end up in Ravenclaw, if not Gryffindor for how bravely she asked Draco questions on pureblood standards and the different pureblood original families. He pulled on the nice fitting robes Narcissa had bought him, smiling to himself at the reminder of his mother and the promise he was keeping to her in his mind.

They all piled out of the compartment as the train came to a stop. They were called together in front of a large giant of a man with a great big beard. Lynn grinned at Draco as they all started to make their way to the boats. Harry had somehow warmed up to Draco, much to his delight, and they were chatting about different broom brands and how Draco so desperately wanted the new Nimbus.

They all got into boats, four to a boat, which ended up being Ron, Harry, Lynn, and Draco in a boat.

"Hey Draco," Ron piped up as they came closer to the castle. "Don't take offense to this, but I was kind of under the impression that Malfoy's are-"

"Conceited and a hateful family? They are." Draco drawled, looking ahead.

"Well," Ron dragged on, "what about you?"

Draco took a deep breath.

"Do you want me to, Weasel?"

"Obviously not, Ferret!" Ron snapped back.

"Ferret?!" Draco exclaimed, grinning at Ron's attempt at a comeback.

"I don't know, you kind of look like one, with your hair slicked back like that." Ron said as Harry started to chuckle.

Draco grinned and looked down into the water.

"I guess you're right..." He dipped his head into the waves, biting his lip against the cold sensation. He flipped his head back up, splashing Ron in the process.

"What?!- Harry and Lynn exlciamed, as Draco shook his head and watched as his blonde bangs fell over his brow.

He grinned in utter amazement at how good it felt to let his hair be free.

"You really are mad, Malfoy." Ron muttered.

"If that's what it means to be happy, then I'll gladly take it, Weasel."

They hopped off the boats as they approached the castle, Hagrid, the giant man, motioned for them to walk up to the doors of the castle through an underground cave underneath the castle that led up into the school. They all made it up and into the beautiful and rustic halls of the school, old wizard photographs and frames hanging all over the walls. There was a chandelier hanging above their heads, so crystal and beautiful, one couldn't stare for more than five seconds at a time.

"Woaaaah." Lynn whispered to herself as she took it all in.

"It's  _beautiful_." Hermione muttered.

Draco couldn't help but smile and appreciate the artistic and aesthetic beauty surrounding him. They all were guided up the winding stairs towards a set of double doors that supposedly led to the Great Hall for the feast and Sorting. Draco felt his stomach clench at the thought of being Sorted. Professor Mcgonagall explained the whole Sorting process for those who didn't know it, and walked into the Great Hall to prepare everyone for the Sorting. As soon as she left, a voice that Draco really didn't want to hear chimed above everyone else's chatter.

"So it's true then!" Everyone turned towards a dark skinned boy. "Harry Potter is at Hogwarts!"

Draco turned and could see Harry tense up.  _Just to think, that could have been me..._

The boy, Draco identified as Blaise Zabini, sat up straighter and eyed Harry.

"This is Crabbe and Goyle," He said, pointing to two large and very stupid looking boys with scowls on their faces. "And I'm Zabini," Blaise introduced, stepping forward with a big smirk on his face. "Blaise Zabini."

Draco felt himself chuckle before he could even stop the noise from coming out. Blaise scowled and eyed Draco with uncertainty.

"What's so funny, and what are you doing with a Weasely?" He questioned. "And what did you do to your hair?!"

"You think  _that_ crap introduction is going to get Harry to like you?" Draco muttered, crossing his arms over his chest.

"And what do you have in mind? Bribe him with your father's money and buy him as your friend?" Blaise laughed, an awful choking noise. "What? Did you forget who you are? Blonde hair, pristine robes, you're a  _Malfoy_! You shouldn't be settling for dirt, like _mudbloods_ and  _Weasels_ -"

Draco stepped forward and shoved Blaise's chest.

"Oooooh, Draco feels offended!" Blaise cheered, locking eyes with Harry. "You'll soon find out that other wizarding families are better than  _others_ " he glared at Draco, "Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort." He glared at Draco, Ron, and Hermione and Lynn. "I can help you there." And Blaise extended his hand out to Harry.

Draco was about to start yelling, when Harry eyed Blaise's hand like it was vermin and back up at Blaise's face.

"I think I can tell the wring sort for myself,  _thanks_." Harry sassed.

Suddenly Mcgonagall appeared from behind the great doors and eyed Blaise until he stepped back to where he had been standing originally.

"We are ready now." She said, smiling slightly in Harry's direction.

As they all surged forward, Harry tugged at Draco's arm and smiled at him.

"Thank you for standing up for me back there. I know it must have been hard-"

"No problem, Potter." Draco assured, feeling a smile get the better of him. 

They all gathered at the front of the room where a stool was placed with a lopsided hat was placed on top. Mcgonagall grabbed a list and went down the list, calling people's names alphabetically. Draco watched as the boys and girls he had been forced to grow up with went up and instantly were Sorted into Slytherin. He grimaced every time Slytherin was called. Lynn finally leaned over and grabbed his hand and smiled at him.

"Astoria Black."

Astrid groaned and walked up to the seat. The hat literally was hovering over her head before the hat yelled:

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Romulus Fields-Mckinnon."

Romi grinned at all of them before bounding up to the seat. He plopped down for probably twenty seconds, before the hat screamed:

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Hermione Granger." Mcgonagall called out.

Lynn smiled at Hermione reassuringly as Hermione slowly walked up and sat down on the stool. Draco watched for a full minute as Hermione shifted uncomfortably in front of everyone before the hat bellowed:

"GRYFFINDOR!"

The Gryffindor table erupted into applause as Hermione bounded towards them.

"Lynnette Lupin."

Draco squeezed Lynn's fingers as she grinned at him and Harry and Ron. Draco watched curiously as she plopped down and the hat was placed on her head. The clock kept ticking as the hat continued to make random grunting noises as it spoke into Lynn's mind. After two minutes, and Draco got a little nervous, the hat yelled:

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

The Hufflepuff table cheered vibrantly as Lynn grinned and ran down the steps. Draco reached forward and brushed his hand with hers as she grinned at him.  _At least she's happy_. Suddenly, far too soon, his name was called.

"Draco Malfoy."

Draco gulped, feeling terror rise up in his throat. He felt instinct kick in, to sweep his bangs back and straighten his posture, but he stopped himself and allowed his bags to fall over his brow as he walked up to the stool with his shoulders pushed back. He sat down on the stool and waited as the hat was placed on over his head.

" _ **Why Hello there, Malfoy.** "_

_"Hello, can you sort me now?"_ Malfoy thought to the hat.

_" **Very interesting, very very interesting, you are a lot like your father- very cunning and smart.** "_

_"But I don't_ want _to be like my dad."_

_" **You don't, do ye? That's very interesting. You want to be like your mother- you have a very similar mind to hers. Quite brave, but lacking the compassion for a Hufflepuff.** "_

_"Please, anything but Slytherin, I want to make my mum proud. I need to be brave for her."_ Draco pleaded.

_" **That settles it then, you're quite courageous and chivalrous of your mother. I guess that means-** "_

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Draco opened his eyes and stared into a sea of shocked expressions.

Suddenly, in the front row, Harry Potter started clapping, his face wide and smiling up at him. Draco beamed as the rest of Gryffindor started clapping and applauding. He made eye contact with Professor Snape before he joined his new House. Snape nodded his head as Draco smiled appreciatively at him.

_Narcissa will be pleased_ ," Snape thought with a smile as he pondered how beet red Lucius Malfoy would turn at this new revelation.


	8. Chapter 7: The Gryffindor's: Plus One Hufflepuff

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draco struggles with the Slytherin's teasing and pestering him, but little does he know that this new Housemates (Plus one little Hufflepuff) have his back.
> 
> Narcissa get's the brunt of Lucius' anger at their son, but turns to her sister in her time of need.
> 
> Robin and Remus talk with Dumbledore about Sirius Black's innocence and form a plan to prove his innocence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I meant to publish this earlier today, but I lost the original chapter so I had to rewrite it...
> 
> I hope you all enjoy!
> 
> *Warning: Mentions of abuse*

**Chapter 7: The Gryffindor's: Plus One Hufflepuff:**

 

Lucius Malfoy was upset quite often, but nothing compared to this morning and the events that transpired. The owl that delivered his  _ Daily Prophet _ had been late and was “completely incompetent to his standards”. He went on a rant about how the Ministry needed to invest more into how they deliver things, because it’s “inappropriate” and “doesn’t reflect well on who they are as corporation”. Next, Dobby had burned his toast, and Lucius had a headache by the time Dobby had stopped screaming by burning his ears in the oven. 

Narcissa tried to offer suggestions for herbal teas to soothe his headache, and Lucius screamed at her for a solid ten minutes about pureblood standards when it comes to marriage and “when the proper time is for a witch to speak up to her wizard”. 

“Like for heaven’s sake, Narcissa, take a leaf out of Walburga and Orion’s marriage! They functioned like two peas in a pod, they did! And it wasn’t only because they were related!” He had yelled.

Because she had spoken out of term, Lucius sent her to go and clean out his closet, knowing full well that that was Dobby’s favorite job and that that would punish him as well. Lucius collapsed on the loveseat and unfolded the Prophet in his hands. He took a sip of his tea and suddenly choked at the title on the front page.

**_Draco Malfoy: New Sirius Black at Hogwarts?_ **

_ Along with the infamous Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy, son of Lucius Malfoy, a former Slytherin at Hogwarts, was Sorted last night into the House of the Brave: Gryffindor. Ten points to Gryffindor? Or to the Dark Lord Sirius Black served? Just like former Hogwarts student, Sirius Black, Draco Malfoy comes from a family of well known former Slytherin’s and Dark Magic followers. In school, Sirius was well known to be the right hand man at James Potter’s side, but years later he ended up being his “best mate’s” murderer?  _

_ What’s the coincidence? Is Draco Malfoy the next Sirius Black? Here to steal our hearts, and then stab us in the back? Will he be the right hand man to Harry Potter?- _

“What’s the matter, Lucius? You yelled-” Narcissa called, gasping as she saw the Daily Prophet over Lucius’ shoulder.

Narcissa couldn’t fathom what to feel. She was  _ ecstatic _ that her son had a choice in his Sorting and that he was safe from the possessive hand of his father. But then, Narcissa noted how Lucius’ face was going an alarming shade of purple.

“He’s no son of mine.” He growled, crumpling the corners of the Prophet and throwing it in a heap at the ground.

Lucius stood up, grabbed his cloak, and stepped through the floo without a word to his wife. Narcissa stared at the moving photograph of her son, smiling at the Gryffindor table with Harry Potter at his side. She noted how the lightning scarred boy smiled and talked animatedly to her son, that her son had a healthy glimmer in his eye as he laughed at something Harry said.

She couldn’t contain her excitement. She grabbed her cloak, a pen and parchment, and left a note for Lucius to find later. She grabbed some floo powder and threw it into the flames.

“Tonks’ Cottage!”

 

~~~X~~~

  
  


Draco found that he didn’t like people staring. He liked to be alone, kept alone to himself with a good book and some peace and quiet. But as he had laughed and bantered with the other Gryffindor boys the days prior, he found that his need for space was lessening. 

He actually started to warm up to the Weasel and loved watching Fred and George play pranks on him. He liked discussing school topics with Hermione by the common room fireplace, also giving her tips and information about wizarding society and other random topics. He liked discussing quidditch with Romi, Harry, and Astrid. Astrid kind of scared him, but he liked watching her and Romi interact and tease each other. He guiltily like Harry more because Harry actually would talk to him about his past, asking him questions about his mum and all the various locations he would spend his summer holidays at.

But he most of all enjoyed his mornings at breakfast when everyone else was asleep. All except Lynn, who would wake up, grab food from the Hufflepuff table and sit down next to him and read the prophet with him. He hadn’t gotten any letters back from his mum yet, which concerned him, but ever since the Daily Prophet compared him to the murderous Sirius Black, Draco had realized that things probably weren’t as dandy at home as they were for him here in the confines of Hogwarts.

On the Friday of the first week, the day of their first potions class, Lynn greets him with a wide smile. She plops her plate down, filled with waffles, chocolate spread, and whipped cream and bacon.

“That looks healthy.” Draco sarcastically pointed out, digging into his eggs and sausage.

“Oh most definitely!” Lynn giggled, cutting into the waffles and taking a bite. “It pleases my sweet tooth.”

“I can see that.” Draco muttered, watching some of the chocolate dribble onto her plate messily.

“Have you ever  _ tried  _ chocolate before, Draco Malfoy?” Lynn muttered, gaping at the blonde boy.

“Of course,” Draco scoffed, chuckling at the look on Lynn’s face. “I just never liked it.”

“ _ How?! _ ” Lynn exclaimed, dropping her fork.

Draco grimaced, remembering how his father had embarrassed him in front of the other kids at age five for digging into the chocolate platter, covering his pale face in the dark brown substance. Ever since then, he had never really been fond of the treat, watching as older pureblooded women munched on chocolate bars and balls with her tacky lipsticks and their horrid scratchy voices as chocolate got onto their teeth and lips.

“I don’t know…” Draco muttered.

Lynn huffed and grabbed a handful of chocolate chips from the platter across from them.

“Draco Malfoy, you  _ have _ to try some chocolate.” Lynn ordered.

“What-” Draco tried to interject.

“Mate, you may just have to listen to her.” Draco heard Romi mutter behind him.

Lynn had her hand outstretched, a handful of chocolate chips in her palm. She grabbed his pale hand and poured the chocolate chips into his hand.

“Eat!” She ordered, biting into her own waffles.

Draco grimaced and slowly lifted his palm up to his mouth. He popped the chocolate chips into his mouth and bit down on the small sweets. Sweet, milky flavor burst on the tip of tongue, making his eyes widen in awe. The feeling of the chips melting on his tongue had him groaning and eyeing the rest of the platter of chocolate chips.

Lynn grinned in victory.

“Ha! I told you so!” She cheered.

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Astrid suddenly came down the stairs and towards the table as Draco snuck the bowl of chocolate chips onto his plate.

“What did you tell him?” Ron questioned. “That he looks like a lost ferret with his hair uncombed like that?”

Draco sneered at Ron, sensing the joke and messing his hair up more. It was odd, all his growing up life, Draco had been very nit-picky. He liked his hair gelled back, his food scooped on his plate so that nothing touched each other, and his robes to be flat ironed and washed accordingly. 

But now, being amongst the other Gryffindors, he felt the nit-picky part of his mind start to fade. He liked the way his grey eyes almost looked sky blue now that he ate and smiled more. He found that he liked it when he smirked more than he smiled. He loved the feeling of real, honest laughter bubbling up his throat than the polite chuckles he had grown to learn because it wasn’t “proper”. He liked the way his straight blonde hair got slightly wavy when he left it untouched and gel-free. He liked how he could leave it and it would curl over his brow just perfectly messily. 

“No,” Lynn spoke, waking him from his trance. “I told him he should try chocolate again cause he used to hate it!”

“What!” Several voices exclaimed.

“What sadistic life have you been living?” Romi muttered.

Draco shrugged and continued to shove chocolate chips into his mouth.

“I don’t think I’ve been living until now…” He muttered i a trance.

Everyone laughed at him and dug into the food. Draco loved conversing with people, but ultimately he loved hearing others conversing with each other the most of all.  He was learning everyone’s little characteristics as they spoke. Harry leaned in closely, making steady eye contact, unless he was uncomfortable about the subject. Hermione nodded her head a lot and squinted when someone was talking, but when she was talking her eyes went wide and she would use her hands to explain things.

Ron was fun to watch because he was so expressionate. If something irked him, he would scrunch his brow and widen his eyes dramatically. If he was happy, he would get this goofy grin. When he was shocked, his face would pale and he would make weird unintelligible noises. Astrid was very much the same, except she scrunched her nose up a lot. Romi stroked his hair, his face, or his chin when he would listen to someone. But when he would talk, he would play with his tie or glasses. But Lynn would smile a lot when she spoke, waving her hands and giggling when she would talk. She bounced a lot too when she would listen to people talk.

Suddenly the owls came flying in from the owlery. Draco spotted his owl and accepted the Daily Prophet from him. He braced himself for the unexpected, but was shocked to see something about Gringotts being broken into.

“That’s odd… when I went to get my money the first time, Hagrid met us there and was going down to the vaults in the same cart as us.” Harry muttered, shoving his glasses up his nose.

“He took something, a small parcel, out of that vault- the one that was broken into.” Harry looked up at everyone.

Draco scrunched his brow.

“Did you ever find out what it was?” Draco asked.

“Was anything stolen?” Hermione questioned.

“No I don’t know what it was Hagrid took from it,” Harry muttered, “and no, nothing was stolen…” He answered Hermione’s question.

“That’s odd…” Hermione muttered.

Suddenly she stood up and started grabbing her bags and supplies.

“Class starts soon, we don’t want to be late for potions now, do we?”

Everyone groaned.

 

~~~X~~~

  
  


“But Dumbledore! If you agree that Sirius is innocent, then why aren’t we doing anything about it?!” Robin exclaimed.

Dumbledore sighed, sitting back in his seat as Robin Lupin started angrily pacing. Remus eyed his sister as she started going on about how she could see the innocence in his eyes, something they had both heard repeated several times over and over again.

“I believe I must interrupt your tirade again, Mrs. Black,” Dumbledore interrupted her. “I must say that I  _ do  _ believe he’s innocent, I’m stating a fact that the entire wizarding world doesn’t know that.”

Robin slumped over in her chair, scowling up at her former Headmaster.

“The what do we  _ do _ ?!” She exclaimed.

“We cannot prove his innocence now, not without all the facts.” Dumbledore stated.

“So, what are some of the missing factors we need?” Robin questioned.

“We thought he killed all of those muggles,” Remus piped in, “we could check his wand and see his past spells and record if he used any alarming spells or charms that could have done that.”

“That’s a good start, Remus!” Dumbledore cheered.

“We also thought that he was a Death Eater, so we could check his bloody arm for a Dark Mark!” Robin bellowed.

“That’s good too.” Dumbledore muttered.

“He supposedly killed Peter,” Remus thought outloud. “So if it wasn’t Sirius, was it Peter?”

“It makes sense, he would be the person you would least suspect, besides Sirius if you really knew him.” Robin muttered, a dark cloud storming across her face.

“And it makes sense for Sirius to be there, like he was chasing Peter down to confront him…” Remus muttered, suddenly believing this theory over anything.

“It does make sense,” Dumbledore mused, “Peter was an odd student who always followed the leader so that he wouldn’t get trampled on. But when you all graduated and went into the real world, James Potter wasn’t as great and mighty as Voldemort was.”

Robin scowled.

“That dirty rat-”

“Rat!” Remus exclaimed. “That utter  _ rat _ could be anywhere!”

“Would he still be alive?!” Robin exclaimed.

“He only left a finger! What if he cut if off to give evidence to convicting Sirius?! The damned rat got away and watched the aurors falsely accuse him!” Remus exclaimed.

“I am interested as to why you keep referring to him as a rat…” Dumbledore chimed in.

“You know how I was an animagus in order to be with Remus on his full moons?” Robin asked, as Dumbledore nodded his head. “Well, Sirius, James, and Peter decided to join along as well. They became animaguses as well.”

“James was a Stag, Sirius was a black dog, and Peter was a rat.” Remus explained.

“That makes sense now…” Dumbledore mused with a chuckle. “No wonder that great big dog liked to lick me all the time.” 

“So how do we find Peter? He could be anywhere…” Robin groaned.

“Peter would probably go somewhere far away, to create distance from us if we were to figure it out.” Remus pointed out.

“But he would stay close or with someone trustworthy to him to hear about us.” Robin mused.

“Where does his extended family reside?” Dumbledore asked.

“I know his family came from France and he has some distant aunts and uncles spread over the country and into Germany a bit.” Robin pondered.

“Really? How did you know this?” Remus asked.

“How did you not?! You were better friends with him, for Merlin’s sake!”

“Apparently not.” Remus scowled.

“I do know that he has a great aunt somewhere in either Latvia, or some small town in Eastern Russia.” Robin added in.

“Okay I  _ did _ know that!” Remus exclaimed.

“I recall knowing of his cousin on his father’s side of the family going off to Australia a few years back.” Dumbledore mused.

“Oh! He had a pretty long term girlfriend after school!”

“Really?! Who?!” Remus exclaimed.

“Maybe this is why he betrayed us!” Robin exclaimed, shaking her hands in Remus’ face. 

Dumbledore chuckled and popped a lemon drop in his mouth.

“But I do remember that she went to Ilvermorny in America, I just don’t know where her family came from distinctly…”

“Did she stay in America?” Dumbledore questioned.

“I don’t think so… Maybe she went off to Switzerland or some place…” Robin mused.

“Alright then,” Dumbledore said, standing up and clearing his voice. “We have some possible locations. We can try and check these places and ask around.”

“Where should we go to first?” Robin asked.

“Let’s start off locally, like checking in with his mother and the summer cottage she owns that was supposed to go down to Peter.”

“He had a summer cottage?!” Remus exclaimed.

“Merlin, Remus, you were such a bad friend.” Robin groaned.

“No, Sirius was,” Remus pointed out. “Because he hung Peter to the rafters and started demonstrating how to play Pin the Tail on the Donkey, Hippogriff style, to the first years.”

“Merlin, no wonder he blamed Sirius for the betrayal, I’m pretty sure I would go after his sorry ass myself for that.” Robin said with a chuckle.

Dumbledore beamed at them, popping another lemon drop into his mouth.

  
  


~~~X~~~

  
  


Draco hated Slytherins. He hated how they had all rallied around him, and now they all rallied around the next bully, Blaise. He had never liked them at all, they were annoying and all they ever wanted to do was gossip and talk bad about people. 

It wasn’t like the conversations he was starting to enjoy with Hermione. She was  _ smart _ and it continued to stump him on how his father really was an idiot for assuming all muggles and muggleborns were stupid, brainless pigs. She always had something to say and contribute to the conversation, which pleased Draco because the Slytherins would all stare up at him and just agree with everything he would say.

Suddenly the doors to the potions classroom smacked open and banged against the wall. Everyone turned to see Professor Snape storm inside, his robes billowing behind him.

“There will be no foolish wand waving and silly incantations in this class.” He paused and glared into the crowd of students before him.

“As such, I don’t expect many of you to appreciate the subtle science and exact art that is potion making. However, for those select few,” he glanced in Draco’s direction as he spoke. “Who possess the predisposition… I can teach you how to bewitch the mind and ensnare the senses. I can tell you how to bottle fame, brew glory, and even put a stopper in death.”

Draco grinned despite himself. He had always loved potions and learning from Snape. It was an easy subject for him to master and it was exhilarating for him to learn more about the subject.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a wad of paper hit him against the head. Draco scowled as he heard a snorted sound of laughter. He glanced over to see Blaise chuckling amongst his friends. He eyed the ball of paper and slowly opened it. As he read the two words etched across it, he felt his blood pump angrily and his teeth gritted together.

**_Blood Traitor_ **

Draco remembered hearing his fsther threaten him with that phrase before, that if he were to defend the “idiot muggleborns”, he would be betraying his own blood and kin. Lucius had slapped him across the cheek, at si years old, and asked him if he wanted to be thrown out of the house and on the streets for being a  _ blood traitor _ . Young Draco shook his head no furiously and promised his father endlessly that he wouldn’t.

But now, Draco almost laughed at the irony as he glanced down at his Gryffindor tie and pin. The lion roaring on its hind legs seemed to encourage his rapidly beating heart as he scowled over at the Slytherins and crumpled the paper into a ball.

“Yet again,” Snape suddenly spoke, breaking Draco out of his angry trance. He tensed, sensing the anger creeping up in the potion master’s tone. He followed Snape’s beady glare to Harry, who was innocently copying down every single word Snape was saying. “Maybe some of you have come to Hogwarts in possession of abilities so formidable that you feel confident enough to not pay attention.”

Everyone’s eyes widened and looked at Harry, who glanced up as Hermione nudged his side. Harry’s eyes were wide as he shut his book and glanced up at the professor.

Snape almost had a heart attack in that moment as the brat-who-lived glanced up at him. His eyes were just like  _ hers _ . It threw off Snape so much, he almost forgot why he was angry in the first place. That was until he looked away from the boy’s eyes and happened to see the mess of hair on the top if his head, the glasses perched on the end of his nose, and the whole persona as James Bloody Potter.

Snape scowled and folded his arms across his chest. Draco groaned to himself, knowing what was about to happen.

“Mr. Potter,” Snape coolly said, “our new celebrity.”

Draco watched as Harry grimaced at the mention of  _ celebrity _ . Draco couldn’t help but wince at the thought of being famous for having dead parents and a scar from a power hungry villain trying to kill you.

“Tell me what would I get if I added Powdered Root of Asphodel to an infusion of Wormwood?” Snape asked.”

Draco couldn’t bear to watch Harry scrunch his brows in confusion to the ingredients he obviously knew next to nothing about.

“You don’t know? Well let’s try again,” Snape spoke, ignoring Hermione’s hand up in the air. “Where, mister Potter, would you look if I tell you to find me a bezoar?”

Once again, Hermione’s hand shot up in the air and Harry still looked as confused as ever.

“I-I don’t know sir…” Harry muttered.

“What is the difference between Monkswood and Wolfsbane?” Snape asked.

Draco felt his blood boil again,  _ that’s the same thing! _ He watched as Harry stuttered, clenching his fists as Snape just smiled.

“Pity,” Snape muttered, “Clearly, fame isn’t everything-”

“There is no difference.” Draco spoke up.

Snape whirled around to Draco, his eyes sharp and a scowl on his cool face. Harry gaped at him, astonished that Draco would speak up.

“There is no difference between Monkswood and Wolfsbane, it’s the same plant that’s called Aconite-”

“Ten points from Gryffindor, Mr. Malfoy, for speaking when you weren’t called upon.” Snape growled, sweeping his robes behind him as he stalked to the front of the class.

“But professor! That wasn’t fair! He was trying to take notes-”

“Do you want another ten points and a detention, Mr. Malfoy?” Snape muttered through clenched teeth.

Draco snapped his mouth shut and slumped back into his seat. He suddenly felt someone tug at his robes. He glanced over to see Hermione smiling a small smile at him.

“That was very brave, Draco.” She muttered quietly as Snape started ranting again.

Draco nodded his head at her, still feeling heated. He glanced up at Harry, who smiled and mouthed “thanks” to him. Draco couldn’t help but allow a small smile to settle on his face as his friends patted his back, despite the points taken away. In the face of Gryffindor, points were added for his bravery to stand up for someone.

As the potions class ended, Draco grabbed his books and was prepared to hightail it out of the class, when he heard the Professor call his name.

“Mr. Malfoy, stay behind a minute would you.” His voice sent shivers down Draco’s spine.

Harry smiled reassuringly at him, Ron patted him on the back and muttered, “good luck mate, you’re gonna need it.”, and Romi made some joke about Snape’s greasy hair that had even Draco chuckling.

Draco walked back inside to see the professor scowling at him, his arms folded over his chest.

“You must learn, Draco, to not speak out in my class ever again.” Snape coolly said.

“But you weren’t being fair!” Draco exclaimed. “He was trying to take notes and you called him out! Now he isn’t going to want to pay attention in your class!”

“I have a firm grip of my class, Mr. Malfoy,” Snape muttered, “Now please, hand over the note that was thrown at you.”

Draco paled and tensed up.

“Draco, I saw Zabini write the damned thing, now hand it over here.” Snape commanded.

Draco slowly reached into his pocket and grabbed the crumpled note. He placed the note in Snape’s hand and watched him open it up. Snape’s expression hardened as he crumpled the paper up again.

“Draco, even though you are in a House of insufferable gits,” Draco winced, “I want you to know that I am here in any assistance you may need. I will report to your mother every day of how you’re doing as well.”

“Has my mother been getting my owls?” Draco asked.

“Your  _ father  _ has.” Snape muttered, making Draco freeze in horror. “You must address your letters to go to your Aunt Andromeda’s place.”

“Is she okay?” Draco asked, his grey eyes wide in fear.

Snape slowly nodded his head.

“She’s alright, she has been better, but she is doing alright with the assistance of your Aunt.” Snape relayed.

Draco nodded his head.

“Now go,” Snape ordered, turning towards his desk. “Dinner is waiting and your brainless friends will probably come charging in here any minute now, wondering if I poisoned you.”

Draco couldn’t help but grin at the mention of his friends. Snape hid a grimace, hoping that Draco wouldn’t copy the ways of the ones who used to bully him.

  
  


~~~X~~~

 

Narcissa winced as Andromeda slowly waved her wand over the open cut on Narcissa’s forehead. The wound slowly started to stitch itself together, leaving an uncomfortable feeling on Narcissa’s brow.

“Cissy, you never answered me,” Andromeda spoke up, breaking the silence. “What did he do to you this time?”

Narcissa stayed silent, stirring her stick around in her cup of tea. She stared into the fireplace, trying to block out the sounds of Lucius smacking her in her head. 

“Seriously, Cissy, he’s a brute.” Andromeda glowered darkly into the fire as well, finishing stitching up the wound. “You don’t deserve to be treated this way.”

Narcissa smiled and looked up at her sister.

“But how can you stop it?” Narcissa said sadly. “He already has roots deep into the Ministry and influential people who will believe him over me any day. I can’t just run away, he has ownership of the vaults my parents left to me. He would be informed if I tried to get ownership of them. So that leaves out running away, because Draco, the baby, and I wouldn’t have any money to buy a home and provide for ourselves.”

“Like I said before, Cissy, you can live with us-”

“He would come after you,” Narcissa said, shaking her head firmly. “I can’t put you in danger, Andy.”

Andromeda pursed her lips and stood up to get a new cup of tea.

“I always knew you were too much of a Gryffindor at heart to be a Slytherin.” She muttered with a smirk.

Narcissa chuckled at her sister.

“I agree.”

Andromeda poured the warm water into her cup and looked up, a sad smile on her face.

“You were such a Gryffindor, even now, when you are faced with danger. You put yourself first to deal with it instead of leaning on others to help you.”

Narcissa shifted uncomfortably.

“Let me help,” Andy murmured as she sat down beside Narcissa again. “In any way that I can, I will help. Whether it be to get you to your doctor’s appointments, provide you with food and shelter, or babysitting your newborn; please let me help you.”

Before Narcissa could speak up, an owl flew up to the window and tapped on it’s pane with a little hoot. Narcissa’s eyes widened as she recognized Draco’s owl with a letter in it’s beak. Andromeda opened the window and allowed the eagle owl inside. It dropped the letter on Narcissa’s lap and cooed at her. 

Narcissa smiled and smoothed her hand down its feathers. Andromeda grabbed a few crumbs of the biscuit she had abandoned on the coffee table and fed it to the owl. Narcissa grabbed the letter and opened it up, marveling at her son’s handwriting on the front.

 

_ Mum, _

_ Professor (he told me to call him professor from now on, because it’s improper to address a teacher by their first name) Snape told me to mail my letters to Aunt Andromeda’s house. Are you okay mother? I reckon father has reacted to the news, has he hurt you? _

_ I hope you’re okay, and well, proud of me. I want to make you proud and I hope I am doing that by being in Gryffindor. I really like my House actually… I feel, happy somehow here. And guess what! I’m friends with Harry Potter! He’s so nice and he likes to talk with me about quidditch and simple stuff like that. Even a Weasley is nice to me! Well, he wasn’t at first, but we are civil now. _

_ But mum! The muggleborns aren’t idiots! This girl, Hermione Granger, is so smart! She knows so much about our world, and she’s only found out about it a few months ago! She’s super nice too, along with Lynn (the girl you met in the shop), they like to talk about muggle books with me. _

_ I hope you’re doing okay, and if you see Tonks, tell her I said hullo! I love you mum, I can’t wait to see you again. _

_ Love, _

_ Your Son Draco _

Narcissa wiped away the tears from her face and cradled the letter to her chest. Andromeda smiled at her sister, glad that she had some spark of happiness in her horribly sad life.

 

~~~X~~~

 

Gertrude Pettigrew’s house used to be a beautiful little cottage on the edge of a forest next to a popular wizarding community. It was mostly inhabited by the popular Hufflepuff families, but Gertrude got along well with them for being in Gryffindor. 

Remus remembered that Gertrude had loved her garden, always getting Peter to help him plant herbs and flowers along the house’s border and fence. She had always wanted to cook for Peter and his friends, making such extraordinary foods and desserts.

But as Robin and Remus approached the little cottage, they were shocked to see the garden hadn’t been trimmed as of recently. There were weeds crawling over the fence and it was chipped and in dire need of painting. Remus couldn’t help but remember how Gertrude had yelled at Peter for not painting the fence correctly.

They opened the gate to the fence, taking notice to how it creaked and groaned under the light weight of their hands. Robin knocked on the blue painted door, noticing how dried up her chrysanthemums were looking. The door slowly creaked open to reveal Gertrude. The last time Remus and Robin had seen her, her brown eyes had been gliterry and full of life. Now, her eyes were dull and had bags hanging underneath them. But as Gertrude looked up at them, her eyes widened significantly and filled with tears.

“R-Remus! Robin! Wh-What are t-two doing h-here?” She stuttered, a smile growing on her little wrinkled face.

Remus smiled a pained smile as Robin leaned down and hugged the woman.  _ She looks like an old woman when she’s only in her fifties… _ Despite his growing hatred of Peter, he couldn’t hate this woman in front of him. He had loved hearing her funny little stories of her Hogwarts days and how she hoped for Peter to have the time of his life in the place she had adored.

But Remus could see how it had pained Gertrude to see Peter struggle. Remus found out, years later in his seventh year, that the hat was headset on putting Peter in Slytherin. Peter, who had been so confused on why he was going to be put in such a bad House, begged the hat to allow him to be in Gryffindor. He wanted to be something, a hope for his mum, who had lost her Slytherin husband to the pureblood agenda. He had left Gertrude, without any note or mention as to where he went.

Because of his insistence in being in Gryffindor, he didn’t really belong. He was too scared, always following James like his shadow, and never made any other friends. Remus had seen the way that Gertrude had tried to push Peter to do things, but it never seemed to work the way she hoped.

“Oh Remus,” Gertrude cried, pulling him into a hug. “It’s been so long! How are you two? Come in for tea, please!” She stepped to the side, pushin Robin inside more.

Remus admired the paintings and pictures on her little white walls. There were cabinets full of unused china and sets, love seats with dust covering them from not being sat upon. Remus wondered when the last time someone had come and seen her.

“So what are you two doing?” Gertrude asked, grabbing one of her china kettles from a shelf. 

Remus helped her by grabbing three cups and plates.

“We are just visiting around,” Robin said, obviously trying not to say too much as Remus and she had agreed upon. “We have a few rather odd questions to ask of you. Do you mind if Remus does a few spells around your house?”

Gertrude smiled at them as she set the kettle on the stove.

“No problem dears, what is it you want to know?” She asked, grabbing a tray from a cupboard.

Remus ducked out of the room as Robin began to talk about Dumbledore’s findings of his missing memories. Remus swished his wand around, casting diagnostic spells around. With every spell, he confirmed that no one but Gertrude had been in this house for years. He almost screamed though at passing a corner and tripping over a rat.

“ _ Immobulus _ .” Remus whispered, freezing the rat in place.

He grimaced and grabbed the brown haired rat. He had always hated rats, despite Peter’s animagus form. After he had read books on the Black Plague and how they carried diseases with them, Remus had never been too fond of them. He picked it up and looked closely at it.

To his disappointment, there was a black spot over the rat’s eye. That hadn’t been on Peter’s form at all, he was pure brown all over. But Remus figured it would be easy to change his fur color, and checked the rats fingers. Unfortunately, the rat had all of his fingers in place, none of them missing.

He waved his wand, making the rat mobile again and watched as it scurried into a hole and disappeared. He walked back into the kitchen, deeming the house safe and Peter-less.

“-and Dumbledore doesn’t know what to think about these missing memories. He has thoroughly questioned us, but he told us to go and talk to you and ask some questions.” Robin finished.

Remus took the kettle off the oven and poured their tea into the china cups. Gertrude thanked him and took a cup as he sat down beside Robin.

“So what is it? What does Dumbledore suspect? That Sirius Black is somehow innocent?!” She exclaimed.

“We don’t know that, Dumbledore has his theories, but you know how he is.” Remus said, lying somewhat. 

“So what is it?” Gertrude asked, sipping her tea with wide brown eyes.

“Please be as honest as you can, Mrs. Pettigrew-”

“Gertrude, please, Robin.” Gertrude interjected.

“-Gertrude, have you heard or seen anything from your son?” Robin asked.

Gertrude’s eyes widened and she almost dropped her tea.

“N-N-No! Why would I?! He’s dead! Isn’t he?” She exclaimed.

“We’re not sure, but Dumbledore wanted us to come and check things out, to see if it would be some sort of possibility that he were alive and knew something.” Remus said.

“W-Well, I haven’t seen him. I haven’t seen anyone really…” Gertrude muttered, setting her cup down on its saucer.

“Are you one hundred percent sure, Gertrude?” Robin asked once more.

“Definitely not. I’ve just been left to myself and the occasional rat or two to go and chew up things in the attics.” Gertrude said with a chuckle.

“It’s an odd question,” Robin began. “But has any of these rats acted  _ abnormal  _ to you? Or have you noticed a rat with a missing toe?”

“Er, no… I hate rats and have been trying to leave them alone and get rid of the pesky beasts.” Gertrude shivered.

Remus tried not to chuckle at the irony.

“Thank you for your time, Gertrude, I’m sorry for the weird questions, but it helps a lot.” Remus said with a smile.

“You’re welcome you two. I hope I can help Dumbledore with anything.”

As Robin and Remus got up from their seats, Gertrude stood up too.

“W-Will you tell me i-if,” she paused as they turned around and faced her. “Will you inform me if he’s alive?” She asked, clearing her throat.

“For sure, Gertrude.” Remus said, opening the door for Robin.

They took one last glance at her, feeling sorry in their hearts for the poor woman to have to live a life without the knowledge that her only son was alive and had betrayed her and everything she stood and believed in.

 

~~~X~~~

 

Harry had been ecstatic at finding out they would have flying lessons. He had flown only once before, and that was with his godmother before the school year started. She and Remus had told Harry stories about how James had been a great flier and that Harry would probably inherit that from him, not just his looks.

Hermione had gone pale at the prospect of flying. Draco suspected her fear of heights, and knew that it wasn’t wise to tease her about it like Ron was doing. Draco didn’t understand why, but Ron had a hard time opening up and being around the girls in the group. He always seemed to find something to bicker with Hermione about and Astrid was always arguing with him and proving him wrong about small little things.

But Lynn seemed excited about the prospect of flying. She had, as well as Harry, only flown once and had loved it. She was bouncing with excitement on the Thursday morning of the lessons. She couldn’t even pay attention in her classes, she was so excited. Draco found it humorous in Herbology class to watch her squirm in her seat.

Finally the school day was done and the rag tag group of Gryffindors and one Hufflepuff made their way to the quidditch pitch where their lessons would take place. Their happiness was ruined though when Blaise, Theodore, Pansy, Crabbe, and Goyle walked out as well. They were making fun of Neville, who had gotten a rememberal earlier at lunch. Before Harry could step in and defend Neville, Madame Hooch walked out.

She went through the instructions quickly and efficiently, telling the first years to put their hand over the designated broom and yell “Up!”. 

Harry, Draco, and Romi immediately got good results. Astrid had to repeat herself once more before the broom flew up into her hands. She grinned, thinking about the stories Robin had told her about Sirius and his quidditch days. She wanted to be a Beater like he had been, but unfortunately first years weren’t allowed on the school teams. 

Ron had a bit of trouble, trying to yell at the broom before Draco nudged him.

“Tell it firmly, but gently. As if you’re speaking to a timid animal.” He repeated the words his father had told him when he was eight and wanting to become a professional quidditch player one day.

Ron scrunched his brow but nodded his head, taking Draco’s advice and repeating “Up!” again. It landed perfectly in the middle of his palm. Ron beamed at Draco.

“Thanks, mate.” He said with a smile.

Draco nodded his head and said watched as Harry repeated what Draco had said to Ron to Hermione. She blushed and tried it out, pleased to see that it had worked for her as well.

After Madame Hooch helped a few other stragglers, Neville included, she instructed them to mount the broom but not to kick off just yet. Suddenly, Neville’s broom seemed to think differently and lifted him up into the air. He started to yell as he flew straight up and into the wall of the castle. 

Everyone screamed and yelled as they ran towards Neville, who had fallen in a heap in a bush. Madame Hooch pushed through the crowd and picked Neville up slowly.

“I’m going to Madame Pomfrey, if I hear or see that any of you flew about an inch into the air, you will be in serious trouble!” Madame Hooch announced, picking Neville up and escorting him into the castle.

As everyone watched Madame Hooch leave, Harry tensed as he heard Blaise speak.

“Looks like Longbottom dropped something.” He said in his nasally, annoying voice.

Harry, Draco, Romi, and Ron all turned around defensively as Blaise held up the Rememberal that must have fallen out of Neville’s pocket.

“Give it here, Zabini.” Harry demanded.

“Why should I?” Blaise snapped, grinning maliciously as he grabbed his broom. “I think I’ll keep it for him to find later.”

“Blaise, you’re an attention seeking prat, give it here now.” Draco demanded, curling his fists.

“How being in Gryffindor has changed you, Draco!” Blaise said with a sneer. “Or were you this  _ pathetic _ before and we just didn’t notice?”

Draco felt his anger rise up within him as he stepped forward. But suddenly Harry was shoving him back.

“Hand it over, now, you prat.” Harry commanded.

“You’ll have to catch me, Potter!” Blaise said with a chuckle, mounting his broom and rising up into the sky. “Does wee ickle Potter not know how to fly a broom because of the muggles he grew up with?”

Harry’s jaw clenched and he mounted his broom with no hesitation, flying up into the sky to meet Blaise.

“Harry  _ no! _ ” Hermione screamed.

“He’s related to James Bloody Potter for a reason, Zabini!” Romi yelled.

“Come on, Zabini, give it here!’ Harry yelled.

“Fine,” Zabini said, but grinned and flew in the opposite direction. “But you’ll have to catch it!”

He chucked the Rememberal into the air and cackled. Harry gripped his broom and zoomed after it. He locked eyes with the red colored object and reached his hand out, catching it right before he could crash into the wall of the castle behind him.

He grinned as everyone below him cheered. He pumped his fist, the one holding the Rememberal, into the air and lowered his broom to the ground. Everyone rushed towards him, cheering and hollering his name.

“Harry Potter, you’re probably the most idiotic wizard I know!” Ron exclaimed, shoving Harry’s shoulder playfully.

“That was  _ amazing _ , Potter!” Draco exclaimed.

“Draco, what did I tell you about calling me ‘Harry’-”

“Harry Potter!” Mcgonnagal’s voice called out for him. 

Harry froze, suddenly nervous. Draco tensed and gave him a nervous glance. 

“Good luck, mate.” Ron whispered as Harry slowly approached the frazzled looking Professor.

“Come along with me please.” She commanded, motioning for him to follow her as she marched back into the castle.

Harry followed, hoping and praying to any powerful being above in the skies to not let him be expelled. He didn’t know how he could tell his godmother that he had been expelled two weeks in.

Mcgonagall stopped before Professor Quirrell’s class and told him to wait. Harry fidgeted nervously for a few seconds before Mcgonagall returned with an older male student. The other boy, with brown hair and hazel eyes, looked quizzically at Harry before glancing back up at Mcgonagall again.

“Mr. Wood, here’s your new Seeker!” She announced.

Harry’s mouth flew open, along with the kid, Wood.

“Excuse me, Professor? But he’s a first year!-”

“Well I just saw him to the most impressive dive next to my window a few minutes ago.” Mcgonagall said with a smirk, that shocked Harry. “He’s  _ just _ as talented as his father was. Train him good! We have a House Cup to win, Oliver!”

Harry grinned at Mcgonagall and Oliver, excited over the fact that he was just like his father in looks and now talent.


	9. Chapter 8: Trolls and the Magic of Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Defensive Draco, Stubborn Astrid, Insecure Ron, Out-of-the-Loop Romi, Stuck-in-the-Middle Harry, Smart Hermione, and Sweet Lynn. That's good enough a description as necessary.
> 
> The kids take on the mountain troll and the hardships of grudges and insecurities.
> 
> Remus and Robin undercover some more important information about Peter....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long to update! I had writer's block for weeks and I was able to get inspiration to finish this chapter!
> 
> I hope you all enjoy this chapter!

**Chapter 8: Trolls and the Magic of Friends**

 

“I can’t believe it!” Ron exclaimed, for probably the seventh time during dinner. 

“I know, we can’t either.” Draco said sarcastically, stirring his tea with slow strokes, his blonde eyebrow raised in a perfect arch.

Lynn giggled and stuffed some more chicken in her mouth to keep from laughing out loud. This just proved to make things even more difficult for Lynn, as she so desperately wanted to laugh and started choking. Astrid patted her back, mostly focused on trying to make Ron’s ginger head pop off with her imagination. He had made another girl comment to her about her inabilities to get her broom up quickly during the lessons that day.

It was slightly awkward for the girls because they got along with Harry quite well. Harry was nice, a little guarded internally, but they liked him. Draco got along well with the girls too, which was surprising to everyone. Romi was basically like a brother to Astrid and treated Lynn the same. He was slowly warming up to Hermione, he didn’t like her bossiness as much. But Ron was another story; he couldn’t  _ stand _ Hermione’s bossy demeanor. He could tolerate Lynn because of how close she was with Harry, but he was on the brink of death with Astrid’s sarcastic comments and general hatred of him.

Ron scowled, realizing he was being made fun of and rolled his eyes. 

“Piss off, Malfoy.”

“Gladly.” Draco muttered, grinning at the red head.

“But yeah, you should have seen Oliver’s face,” Harry piped in, trying to avoid another confrontation between the two. “And you all have to keep this a secret, Oliver wanted to keep it on the down low.”

“Well you  _ are  _ the youngest seeker at Hogwarts ever, oh wait, did Ron mention that already?” Draco said sarcastically, earning a punch in the shoulder from said boy.

“Well I think it’s exciting,” Hermione added in, surprising everyone. “What?! Just because  _ I  _ don’t like flying doesn’t mean I can’t be excited for Harry! I just think it’s cool that you have something in common with your father, Harry.”

Harry grinned, also thinking that was another plus to the fortunate events to take place.

“When did you start getting cosy with Harry?” Ron muttered, “Do you  _ like _ him?!” He exclaimed.

Hermione went red in the face, a scowl settling on her face and making her look quite scary. But before she could yell at Ron, or Astrid could find an excuse to yell at him for her, a cool voice interrupted them.

“Having a last meal, Potter? When are you getting a train back to the muggles?” Blaise sneered.

“Y’know,” Harry said with a glint in his eye that Draco identified as trouble. “You’re a lot braver now that you’re on the ground and you’ve got your little friends with you.” 

“I’d take you on anytime on my own!” Blaise exclaimed, shoving Crabbe and Goyle aside.

Draco snorted, catching Blaise’s attention.

“Really! I would! Unlike you, Malfoy. I bet you’re going to have to hide from your father from now on because of such a  _ disgrace _ you are-”

“Shut it, Zabini!” Harry raised his voice, clenching his fists tightly against the table. “You’re all talk, you’re a coward and you know it.”

Draco couldn’t think of a time when Blaise had looked more angry. His face was beet red and he was clenching and unclenching his fists.

“Tonight. Wizard’s Duel. Wands only-- no contact. What’s the matter? Never heard of a wizard’s duel before, I suppose?” Blaise spat.

“Of course he has,” Ron said wheeling around. “I’m his second, who’s yours?”

Blaise glanced over both Crabbe and Goyle.

“Crabbe,” he said. “Midnight, all right? We’ll meet you in the trophy room; that’s always unlocked.”

As Blaise walked away, Draco rounded on Ron.

“What the bloody hell is wrong with you?!” He exclaimed.

“What’s a wizard’s duel?!” Harry asked, obviously panicked. “What do you mean you’re my second?!”

“Well a second’s there to take over if you die.” Ron said casually, digging into his pie.

Harry’s brows shot straight up.

“But you won’t be dueling to the death,” Draco said, rolling his eyes. “He’s probably not going to show. He probably didn’t expect you to agree and doesn’t even know any magic to use against you!”

“What if I wave my wand and nothing happens…” Harry muttered, pushing his glasses further up his nose.

“Punch him straight in the nose, mate.” Romi chipped in, sitting down by Ron. “What did I miss?”

“Harry you can’t do a wizard duel with Blaise! Don’t you know how many House points you could lose if you did that?!” Hermione exclaimed.

Romi’s eyes widened as he bit into an apple.

“Harry’s already landed himself a duel? First you’re flying illegally and getting caught by Mcgonagall, now you’re dueling Slytherins?!” Romi exclaimed.

“I can’t just  _ not  _ show up! What if he goes and expects me there and then spreads rumors!” Harry wailed.

“But!-” Hermione interjected, but was interrupted by Ron sending her a nasty look.

“It’s really none of your business.” Ron muttered.

Hermione gasped, but Ron was already tugging Harry up the stairs and towards the dormitory.

“Well,” Romi muttered, “this just got awkward. Draco, wanna join me to the common room?”

“Gladly.” Draco muttered, smiling to Lynn and Hermione. “Sorry about that, he’ll get off his high horse when reality kicks him in the ass.”

Lynn smiled up at Draco for his concern of Hermione. She scooted closer to the frizzy haired girl and gave her a side hug.

“He’s just a boy, ‘Mione, he’ll get over it. All boys go through that phase at least sometime in their life.” Lynn encouraged.

Hermione wiped at her face, hiding it from Lynn and anyone else’s view.

“Thanks, Lynn.” She thanked, smiling at the Hufflepuff girl.

 

Draco liked his friends. Harry was nice to him and had a wicked sense of humor. Romi was laid back and had a lot to say, surprisingly. Hermione was smart and had a habit of telling people what to do, but so did Draco and that made him feel better about himself. Astrid, he wasn’t super close to, but she surprised him with her witty comebacks and her understanding of quidditch. Lynn was all smiles and funny conversations that had Draco smiling at hours later.

But Ron irked him still. Yeah, the boy was loyal and had latched onto Harry immediately, but he still bothered Draco. And that made Draco feel bad, for not immediately liking the red haired boy who got along with Harry. 

He and Romi walked into the boys dorm and got ready for bed. Draco was prepared to follow Harry, knowing full well that Ron wouldn’t be the best candidate to get in trouble with. He laid back on his covers and waited for Harry and Ron to get up and leave. He suddenly heard Ron whisper:

“Half past eleven, we better go.”

Draco got up along with them, causing them both to look up in alarm.

“You didn’t think I’d let you go alone, did you?” Draco muttered, smirking at Harry.

Harry grinned and clapped Draco on the back as they crept down the stairs and into the common room. The fire was still crackling, making the room look entirely peaceful-- until a lamp flickered on.

“I can’t believe you’re going to do this, Harry.” Hermione spoke up, sitting on a chair, her arms folded across her chest and a scowl on her face.

“You!” said Ron furiously. “Go back to bed!”

“I almost told Percy!” Hermione snapped. “He’s a prefect, he could put a stop to this.”

“Hermione, this is a little out of hand--” Harry muttered, wondering how Hermione, or any person in general, could be this bossy.

“Let’s go.” Ron muttered, pushing Harry through the portrait hole.

Draco grimaced and followed the boys.

“Draco! You aren’t going to stop them?!” Hermione exclaimed, following after them.

“Someone needs to look out for them.” Draco mumbled.

“Don’t you care about Gryffindor? Do you only care about yourselves? I don’t want Slytherin to win the House cup, and you’ll lose all the points I got from Professor Mcgonagall for knowing Switching Spells-”

“Go away.” Ron hissed.

“All right, but I warned you, you just remember what I said when you’re on the train tomorrow-” Hermione stopped with a gasp.

Draco whirled around to see the Fat Lady gone from the painting.

“Now what am I going to do?!” Hermione hissed in a shrill voice.

“That’s your problem-” Ron muttered with a smirk.

“-come with us, Hermione, we may need your expertise in Switching Spells.” Draco said, amusedly.

Hermione scowled and crossed her arms over her chest, weighing her options, as Ron and Harry started to walk away.

“I’m coming with you.”

“You are not!” Ron exclaimed.

“It’s not like she can just wait there, Ron, what if Filch catches her?” Draco spoke up. 

Ron glared at Hermione with such intensity, Harry thought Ron  _ might _ actually implode.

“If you get us caught--this is going to you too Malfoy--” Draco scoffed. “I’ll never rest until I’ve learned that Curse of the Bogies Quirrell told us about, and use it on you.” Ron hissed.

Hermione opened her mouth, but Harry and Draco both glared at her to keep her mouth shut. Hermione ‘hmphed’ and followed along as they quietly slipped through the corridors. Every corner freaked Harry out, thinking that Mrs. Norris and Filch was going to be waiting there for them. Ron directed them to a staircase up to the third floor and they quickly ran up it towards the trophy room.

They walked inside to see no one. Harry’s shoulders slumped as they walked by the crystal trophy cases filled with cups, shields, plates, and statues all winking silver and gold in the pale moonlight streaming in from a high window.

“Ron, keep an eye out on that entrance,” Harry ordered, “and I’ll watch this one.”

Ron nodded his head and pulled his wand out. Hermione settled herself against a case and read some of the descriptions on the trophies. Draco kept an ear out for anyone coming.

“They’re late,” Ron pointed out after a few silent and terrifying minutes. “What if they aren’t coming and chickened out?”

Suddenly a noise echoed from the room over. Harry pulled his wand out, along with Draco, at the sound of someone, not being Blaise, speaking.

“Sniff around, my sweet, they might be lurking around a corner.”

“Filch!” Draco mouthed to Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

Harry’s eyes widened and he thought fast of what to do. He motioned for the other three to follow him. They scurried silently toward the far door, away from Filch’s voice. Hermione’s robes barely whipped around the corner as Filch entered the room.

“They’re in here somewhere,” Filch muttered, “probably hiding.”

“C’mon!” Harry whispered, starting to creep back down the hallway full of suits of armour. 

Draco grimaced as he could hear Filch’s heavy breathing getting nearer. Suddenly Hermione’s shoe squeaked and Ron tripped forward, gasping. He ran into Draco and pulled him down with him, clanging into a suit of armour. Harry and Hermione winced at the loud clanging sound.

“RUN!” Harry commanded, breaking into a sprint.

Harry didn’t look back once to see if Filch was behind them. They swung around a doorpost, down a corridor, then another, with Harry in the lead and Draco in the rear. They had no idea where they were going, and suddenly ripped through a tapestry into a hidden passageway. Harry followed down along it and found themselves near the Charms classroom, which was a long ways away from the trophy room. 

“I think we lost him.” Harry panted, wiping his forehead of the sweat gathering on his brow.

“I told you so!” Hermione gasped, trying to catch her breath again.

“We’ve got to get back to the tower.” Draco muttered.

“And quickly at that.” Ron added.

“Blaise tricked you! You realize that right?” Hermione hissed at Harry.

“Yeah yeah, I figured as much, but that’s what I’m here for right?” Draco said jokingly.

“Har har, Malfoy.” 

“Let’s go.” Harry muttered, leading the way again.

Suddenly, out of a door to a classroom came Peeves. Draco groaned,  _ just our luck, I blame Weasel _ .

“Wandering around at midnight, Ickle Firsties? Tut, tut, tut. Naughty naughty, you’ll get caughty.”

Hermione tried to beg with Peeves, but Ron quickly grew frustrated and tried to swing at Peeves. Draco groaned again as Peeves started to scream:

“STUDENTS OUT OF BED! STUDENTS OUT OF BED IN THE CHARMS CORRIDOR.”

They all ducked under Peeves and down the corridor towards a door. But alas, it was locked.

“This is it!” Ron exclaimed. “We’re gonna die!”

“Oh move out of the way!” Hermione exclaimed, pulling her wand out. “ _ Alohamora _ !” The lock clicked and the door swung open, the four of them piling through and shutting the door swiftly behind them.

“They all listened, their ears pressed to the door, as Peeves joked with Filch, not giving up their location because of the improper usage of ‘please’.

“He thinks this door is locked,” Harry muttered, “we’re safe-- hey! Hermione, stop pinching me!” But he stopped as he looked straight ahead.

They weren’t in a room, they were in a corridor; the forbidden one that Dumbledore spoke of. Harry gasped as he stared into the monstrous eyes-- and  _ heads _ \--of a three headed dog, snarling and growling menacingly.

Harry acted fast, gripping the door handle and swinging it open. Everyone darted through and he slammed the door shut behind them, distancing themselves from the beastly dog. Harry noted that Filch wasn’t anywhere to be seen, but they hardly cared as they all hurried towards the Gryffindor tower. 

They all piled into the portrait hole, glad that the Fat Lady was back.  They all collapsed onto the seats around the fire and laid there for a while, not speaking or moving.

“What do you think they are doing, keeping a thing like that locked up in a school?!” Ron exclaimed.

“If any dog needs exercise, it’s that one.” Draco mumbled, staring into the coals of the fire.

“Didn’t any of you use your eyes and see what it was standing on?!” Hermione spoke up, her bad temper back.

“The floor? I didn’t have time to, what with the beast having  _ three _ heads.” Harry sassed.

“No not the floor, it was on top of a trap door!” Hermione exclaimed.

“It’s guarding something…” Draco muttered.

“Now,” Hermione snapped, getting up from her seat. “I hope you’re pleased with yourselves. We could have been killed!--or worse, expelled. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to bed.” 

As Ron bickered with Draco about how unimportant Hermione was, Harry couldn’t help but wonder what the dog was guarding.  _ Could this be linked to the break in at Gringotts and whatever Hagrid took from the vault? _

 

~~~X~~~

 

Halloween had always been hard for Remus and Robin ever since that fated night eleven years ago. It was a reminder of all that they went through and all that they had lost. Remus lost his wife and daughter that day and Robin lost her husband. But ultimately, they both lost the family that they had created all together: their best friends.

But on the morning of Halloween, Robin woke up with determination and a goal  on her mind. She and Remus had visited the cottage right after their visit with Gertrude Pettigrew to get the same results.

But Dumbledore encouraged them to start spreading out more. Remus suggested travelling to France to where the majority of Peter’s second and third cousins lived in the city of Paris. Robin agreed to the plan, helping Remus plan out who they were going to visit first.

They both agreed that Peter’s Aunt Tilly was best, a bright and bubbly woman with several young kids. She seemed the most approachable of the family there, Peter’s great great uncle Herman being the last person they wanted to cross paths with. 

Marlene had agreed to watch the Black Estate for them while they travelled all over France for a few weeks to all of the various cities and regions Peter’s family was spread throughout in. She had ultimately wanted to come along with the hunt, but it was needed to have someone at the house.

The two Lupin’s Apparated on Halloween morning to a back alley way next to the ferry where they would be boarding on to get to the French countryside. They purchased their tickets, ran on board, and went over the rough sketch of the plan  _ once  _ more to ease Remus’ nerves.

The ferry ride wasn’t that long, and soon enough they were getting off and towards the Muggle-Warded PortKey Office. They got their PortKey for Aunt Tinny Mobli nee Pettigrew’s house and left immediately with a swish.

Robin couldn’t help but admire the elegant cottage before her. There was a mini forest nearby, providing shade where the little white and brown cottage lay. Robin was pleased to smell the faint scent of baking breads and spices.

“Diagnostics?” She asked Remus as they stepped forward and onto the property.

Remus wordlessly obliged, waving his wand around with no trace of anything from the spells he had casted around the place. They continued to walk towards the door, which opened and revealed a short, strawberry blonde woman with a good couple of grey streaks in her hair.

“Hullo! You must be Remus and Robin I corresponded with!” The woman greeted, walking out onto her porch and smiling at the two of them. “Will you be staying for dinner?” She asked, a similar hopeful gleam in her eye that Gertrude had.

“That would be lovely, Ms. Mobli.”

“Call me Tinny,” Tinny said with a grin, opening the door open for the two of them. “Step on inside!”

Robin’s eyes fell on a family portrait first thing as she stepped into the cottage. It was across the room on the opposite wall, a wizarding picture with everyone smiling and waving at the camera. Robin quickly identified Peter beside his mother and Tilly.

“So,” Tilly spoke up as she set the tea tray out on the table and started pouring Remus a cup. “This business you two are on is for Dumbledore right?” She asked.

Robin pulled up a chair and smiled at Tilly as she poured her a cup as well. 

“Yes, I believe he contacted you as well?” Robin answered.

“Yes he did,” Tilly said, chuckling as she took a sip of her tea. “Didn’t really say what it was about, Dumbledore did, but he told me that you two would explain it better and in person.”

“Well we hope you can hear us out--” Remus began, wringing his fingers from habit of being nervous. 

“--even though we have some weird questions to ask-” Robin interjected.

“--it’s about your nephew Peter.” Remus said, nervously.

Tilly’s eyes widened and she set the tray of cookies and crumpets down on the table.

“Well that’s quite unexpected…” she muttered, but smiled nonetheless, even if it was a slightly more cautious looking smile. “What is it you need to know about my deceased nephew?”

“Dumbledore has theories,” Remus began with their somewhat true/somewhat of a lie explanation. “He believes that the case of Sirius Black-” Aunt Tilly scrunched up her nose. “Needs to be revisited because of some recent evidence just unearthed.”

“What’s the evidence?” Tilly questioned, sipping her tea.

“Dumbledore figured out that he had some missing memories of the night James, Lily, and Sirius came to him about choosing the Secret Keeper. He figured out that Sirius had suggested a switch, and wasn’t actually the Secret Keeper.” Robin explained.

“Who was it then?” Tilly asked.

“Dumbledore is not sure,” Remus lied. “He has some theories that it could have been Peter,” Tilly gasped. “Or that it was Peter and he was tortured until the secret came out, that it was someone so unexpected, like Marlene, any of the Hufflepuff girls who were friends with Lily, Robin, and Jean.”

“Or it could have been someone who had died and they were tortured to give out the secret and killed. Like Alice or Frank.” Robin said.

“Dumbledore wanted us to come and talk to you about Peter, if you had noticed anything about him beforehand during the war, or if you, by any chance, have seen or heard from him recently.” Remus said.

“But he’s-” Tilly exclaimed before Robin could interject.

“We really don’t know anything anymore, after finding out that it wasn’t Sirius who was the Secret Keeper, it adds up that he isn’t a Death Eater. If he was, Voldemort would have taken the opportunity. So, Peter and Sirius’ confrontation may not have gone the way we believe. Something else could have happened and we must think of it that way.” Robin explained.

Tilly silently sat there, nibbling at her crumpet and sipping her tea as she processed everything. 

“Well I definitely haven’t heard from him at all, since I was under the assumption that my nephew is dead.” Tilly sarcastically said.

“We’re sorry for intruding in your space and probably bringing back bad memories.” Remus apologized with a wince.

“It’s alright,” Tilly said with an even more genuine smile this time. “Thank you for coming to me!”

“Would you mind, Tilly, telling us what Peter was like during the war? Didn’t he come and live with you?” Robin asked.

“Yes, but only for a month.” Tilly said, a weird look crossing over her features.

“What? I thought he stayed for longer?” Robin exclaimed.

“No, he just left one day without a word. He had been acting a little funny the day prior to when he left, I can remember, but he had always just been a strange boy.” Tilly recalled.

“Did he ever say anything to you? Was anyone else living here at the time?” Remus questioned.

“His cousin Molly, my niece who is Gertrude and I’s brother daughter, had been staying with me at the time.” She paused and paled.

“What is it?” Robin asked, laying a hand on Tilly’s arm.

“I never thought anything of it at the time, couldn’t have really, but now that I think of it…” Tilly muttered.

“What happened, Matilda?” Remus asked, using her full name.

“Molly woke up the next morning complaining of a headache. But throughout the day and the next it got worse. But one morning she never woke up, just slipped into a coma that none of the Healers could fix.” Tilly retold, tears dripping down her cheeks.

“But I remember specifically that on the first day, Tilly had been talking in her sleep,” Tilly mentioned, looking away from the wall with the clock on it and back towards Remus and Robin. “She kept saying, ‘the prophecy… he’s with them… the prophecy’, whatever the hell that means!”

Robin’s eyes widened. The prophecy was the reason James and Lily went into hiding in the first place. 

“What if Peter had been the cause of Molly-” Tilly paused, biting back a sob.

“Peter was always rubbish at spells,” Remus muttered, scowling. “He could have tried to  _ Obliviate _ Molly if she had found something about him but it didn’t work correctly…” 

It was silent as everyone absorbed Remus’ and Tilly’s words.

“But that is a guess,” Remus spoke up, “I’m dreadfully sorry about your niece, Tilly.”

Tilly smiled, wiping away the tears from her face.

“Thank you, as hard as this was, it was good to reflect on that time and join some dots together.”

“Thank you for answering our questions.” Robin thanked.

“You’re welcome,” Tilly said with a grin, getting up and walking towards the kitchen. “Now, dinner anyone?” 

  
  


~~~X~~~

 

Harry couldn’t wait for the Halloween feast, hearing stories from Fred and George about the different types of delicacies had his mouth watering with anticipation. He just had to survive through Ron bickering with Hermione every few seconds. 

Draco was also equally annoyed about ‘The Weasel’s’ behavior. He could tell Harry really didn’t know what to do about it, and he felt this need to help aid his new friend. Harry seemed to portray through his actions that he hadn’t ever really had any friends. Draco could see the fear in the boy’s green eyes whenever Ron said something degrading or rude to the bushy haired girl.

So, Draco decided to be the better person (that Weasel  _ obviously  _ wasn’t) and aid and back Harry up. Draco got his opportunity on the day of the Halloween Feast, when Hermione tried to help Ron with his levitating charm during class.

Draco and Hermione seemed to be the only ones to have a good grasp and concept on how to correctly do the charm, with a ‘swish’ and a ‘flick’ of the wrists. Draco was laughing at Harry’s failed attempts at ‘swishing’ and was instead ‘stabbing’ the air viciously. 

“Merlin, Ronald, you are the worst at this charm.” Astrid commented, getting her feather to lift just slightly higher than Parvati Patil’s across the room. 

“Yours isn’t good either!” Ron jabbed back at the messy haired girl. “Flitwick said it’s supposed to fly  _ upwards _ not  _ jump _ .” Ron sneered.

Draco clenched his jaw and lost control of his feather, watching it fly in front of Seamus’ wand where his feather and Draco’s bursted into flames. Harry and Draco jumped, but Harry looked more terrified at the purple tint growing on Astrid’s face. Draco glanced over at where Romi had been cracking jokes with Dean Thomas, to see that the tan boy was glaring daggers at the back of Ron’s flaming red head. 

_ This boy is not going to survive for long if he keeps it up _ , Draco thought, rolling his eyes.

“Here, Ron, lemme show you.” Hermione spoke up, breaking the tension and possibly avoiding a World War Three based on the rage growing on Astrid’s tiny face. “It’s  _ swish _ and  _ flick _ .” Hermione schooled, showing Ron with her own wrist movements.

Ron tried to swish, but it looked more like a goose flapping it’s wings. Draco snorted, causing Ron to scowl harder and his wand movements to become more jerky and pointed.

“No no no,” Hermione exclaimed, grabbing his wrist to stop. “Like  _ this _ ,” she did the movements again. “And also, you’re not saying the incantation right. It’s LeviOsa, not LeviosA.”

Ron tried another failed attempt before growling angrily.

“Why don’t you give it a try, I bet you can’t do it!”

Hermione raised her brow and did the incantation and wand movements perfectly. Draco grinned as he watched the feather fly up into the air above Ron’s head.

“What’s your bet, Ronald?” Draco asked.

Ron scowled.

“I never did  _ bet _ anything, Malfoy.” He hissed.

“Have a little faith then next time.” Draco said, his gaze becoming sharper and meaner as he scowled at Ron.

Suddenly Seamus blew up another feather, causing the class to laugh once again as the class came to an end. Everyone packed up their bags and piled out of the room. It was the end of the day, and Harry couldn’t wait to do his homework by the fireplace and be done before the feast so he could relax and eat more food during the feast later that night.

He was about to relay this thought to his friends, when Ron stumbled over, a scowl on his red face.

“It’s  _ leviooosa _ not  _ leviosaaaa _ , no wonder she’s got no friends-”

Before Draco could yell at Ron, defending the honor of Hermione and claiming her as his friend, Astrid barrelled forward into Ron, smacking him aside.

“You  _ bloody git! _ ” She cursed. “Take that back!”

“The same goes for you too,  _ Astoria _ , nobody wants to be friends with a tomboy!”

Before anything could happen, Hermione yanked on Astrid’s sleeve and pulled her away from the fray. Tears were pouring down Hermione’s cheeks, Draco noted, and he wanted to reach forward and help in some way, but Astrid and Hermione were already gone into the crowd.

“What have you  _ done _ you absolute  _ git _ ?!” Draco exclaimed.

“Stop it!” Harry yelled, glaring at both Ron and Draco. “J-Just stop it, the both of you!”

Suddenly Harry was gone, storming away to the common room with Romi in tow, probably to find the two girls and apologize in Ron’s behalf.

Draco glanced over to see Ron, who’s face was usually red from either anger or an embarrassed blush caused by his other brothers, pale and upset looking. Draco folded his arms over his chest and glared at Ron down the edge of his long and pointed Malfoy-ish nose.

“This is your fault, you know that right?” Draco snapped.

“ _ My _ fault?!  _ You _ were being such a bloody pest-”

“Don’t blame your stupid insecurities on me, Weasel, grow up and learn that Harry isn’t like the others. He’s  _ different _ , he didn’t grow up like any of us, and you can’t treat him like any of the other boys. He won’t just agree with you on how you treat his friends and abuse them.” Draco drilled, his grey eyes sharp and unnaturally light as he glared down at the red head boy.

He turned on his heel and stormed back to the common room, not even glancing back to see what Ron’s expression was. Draco wanted to talk and apologize to Harry. He wanted to hug Hermione and remind her that she was bloody  _ brilliant _ and that she was a  _ muggleborn _ proving people like his father wrong every day. He wanted to go out and throw a quaffle around with Astrid and watch her grin at being in a comfortable setting for her. 

He ultimately wanted to see his friends happy, and he would be happy when that ultimate goal was achieved.

But as he returned to the common room, Romi was trying to talk with Harry, but Harry was glaring into the fireplace. He had his homework strewn over his lap, but he wasn’t paying attention to it at all. Harry glanced up and he smiled a small, sad smile at Draco as he came to a stop in the entrance.

“I-I’m sorry for snapping at you Draco…” Harry muttered.

“Don’t apologize,” Draco interrupted the boy and strode forward, sitting down on the seat across from the messy haired boy. “I-I will admit, even though I  _ really _ don’t want to, that I was a bit of an ass to Weasel--”

“--it’s  _ Ron _ , Draco.” Harry corrected with a small smile.

Draco blushed and smiled.

“Right,  _ Ron _ , I haven’t been all too fair with him. But,” Draco piped up with a scowl. “He has been a git himself too! You can’t-”

“It’s okay Draco, I appreciate your honesty and attempt at an apology.” Harry said with a chuckle.

“Apologizing!” Draco exclaimed.

Harry raised his brow expectantly at the blonde boy, until he relented with an exasperated sigh.

“Fiiiine, I’m  _ sorry _ for my pratish behavior.” Draco apologized, grimacing at the word ‘sorry’.

“I forgive you, Draco.” Harry said with a grin, but it faltered as ge glanced up at the girl’s first year dormitory room.

“They are strong girls, Harry,” Romi reminded. “They will come out when they are ready.”

Harry nodded his head slowly. Draco felt bad for Harry, that he cared so much for people, but also that he was easily put down by the abuse done to others. Draco hardly had anyone, despite his mother, to really love and care about. But Draco smiled to himself as he realized that deep down in his heart, there was a reserved spot for Harry James Potter: the boy who had been kind to him.

  
  


~~~X~~~

  
  


_ Dear Draco, _

_ I’m sorry that you are having troubles with friends. I never was one for them anyway, I always had my sisters and cousins, but I guess that isn’t the best advice for you now. Especially now that Bella isn’t really prime ‘friend’ material.  _

_ But a Weasley, huh? Arthur had been a lot older than me, five years I believe. He was a sixth year when I came to Hogwarts, but I never made my personal quest to find out much about him. I remember once he gave a nasty Ravenclaw girl a detention for picking on me. He had overlooked my Slytherin robes and asked if I was okay after that girl had hit me with a rather nasty spell in the shoulder.  _

_ But he married Molly Prewett, now that makes more sense as to why Ronald would be a bit intolerable. She was a Sixth year too, already fawning over Arthur even back then. I remember she had an annoying voice… but, I’m not encouraging you to hate Ron just because of Molly’s annoying voice. _

_ You seem to care about Harry Potter, not just because of his infamous branding. Under different circumstances, your father would have been proud, but for the wrong reasons. I’m glad you’ve found solace and a friend in the boy, I was always a little bit fond of James Potter when he came to Hogwarts his first year. _

_ Things will get better though, Draco, I promise. If I have deduced correctly about Ron, it seems he’s insecure about his own friendship with Harry and is trying to compete with you, Romulus, Astrid, and even this Hermione girl. You also seem quite fond of her as well, do you fancy her? If you do, I promise to not tease you, I swear. Maybe just a little bit though, a mother looks forward to the day when her son grows up and grows these kinds of feelings. _

_ But I do realize it’s a little too early for you to dwell on those subjects of girls and dating, we will most definitely have that conversation another time when it comes to light, mark my words. _

_ I’ve probably scared you, I apologize. I am just very proud of you, son, to see you growing up in such a beautiful and welcoming place. I can’t wait to see you again, I’m hoping things are okay to see you over Christmas break. Let’s hope your father will be complacent to that. _

_ I must end this letter soon, my time is coming to an end with Aunt Andy. I will write to you tomorrow, I hope the Halloween Feast is as splendid as it has been for me in my years. Have fun and don’t eat  _ too _ much!  _

_ I love you, my darling Draco, _

_ -Your mother, Narcissa _

 

Draco re read the letter over and over again, but he always blushed at the same part, Harry noticed. He had cautiously peeked over Draco’s shoulder and had caught sight of Narcissa Malfoy’s loopy handwriting spelling out,  _ You also seem quite fond of her as well, do you fancy her? _

Harry reminded himself to poke holes at Draco later, but not to bring it up fully. He knew that the blond boy was defensive over things. Sometimes overly defensive, to the point of earning a deathly glare in response. Which was exactly the look he was giving Ron across the table as the Gryffindor table filled up with students eagerly anticipating the feast.

Harry sat in nervous anticipation as he watched the teachers fill up at the head table and also the double doors for signs of Hermione and Astrid. But as the seconds ticked by, he became increasingly nervous that they weren’t going to show up.

“What do you think is taking them so long?” Harry asked, bouncing his knee nervously.

Romi snorted.

“It once took thirty two hours for Astrid to get over a grudge she held over me. Let’s see if the record will stretch for Ronnie-kins here.” Romi teased, ruffling the boy’s hair.

Ron’s face darkened and Draco instantly felt bad, hearing his mother’s wise words ring through his head.  _ He’s insecure about his own friendship with Harry and is trying to compete with you. _ Draco straightened up and spoke before he could even think about what he said.

“That’s a stupid nickname to give someone Romi.”

All three boys stared at Draco in disbelief, making the pale boy’s cheeks heat up. Before anyone could retort, Dumbledore was giving a speech. The boys turned and listened to what the white bearded wizard had to say, which was short and allowed them to eat. Harry felt his insides warm as the table magically appeared large quantities of food in front of him.

As the boys dug in, Harry found that he could hear Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil’s conversation.

“...yeah, the two of them have been crying for hours.” Parvati said.

“They could compete against Myrtle for the loudest sobs.” Lavender said with a grin, making the two of them burst into sadistic giggles.

“Excuse me, who are you talking about?” Harry asked, already knowing the answer.

Lavender and Parvati whipped their heads his way and giggled even more, if that was even remotely possible. 

“Hermione and Astrid, they have locked themselves away in the second floor bathroom--” Lavender said with wide brown eyes.

“--they haven’t come out  _ once _ .” Parvati finished for her.

Harry’s gut wrenched and twisted inside of him. He suddenly didn’t feel hungry anymore as he thought of his two friends crying alone in the bathroom for hours…

But before he could do something heroic and worthy of Godric Gryffindor’s legacy, the doors slammed open and Professor Quirrell came running through, screaming about a troll. He collapsed in a faint, causing everyone in the room to scream and freak out. Draco dropped his chicken, Ron screamed and snorted pudding up his nose, Romi fell off of his bench and pulled poor Neville along with him, and Harry stood up in horror and shock at the people screaming around him.

Suddenly Dumbledore silenced everyone, demanding for the Prefects to lead everyone back to their common rooms. That’s when it hit Harry like a freight train, as Percy Weasley went on a rant about trolls and their idiotic behavior, that Hermione and Astrid didn’t know about the troll.

“What is it, Harry?” Draco asked, gripping the boy’s shoulder.

“Hermione and Astrid don’t know.” Harry said, his face going pale. “We have to save them!”

Draco felt a tugging inside of him, that he later identified as the Slytherin snake still worming it’s way inside of him, that warned him to get himself to safety and away from the troll’s way. But as he watched the determination take over Harry’s features, he knew right there and then that he had to save his friends with as much passion and drive as Harry had.

“Wha-” Ron started, but Romi tugged his sleeve forward.

“Hermione and Astrid!” Romi exclaimed as the four boys darted around a corner, away from the sharp eyes of Percy.

They ran up stairs and steps until they found the bathroom that Parvati and Lavender had spoken about. Suddenly, they heard the loud and unmistakable sound of very large feet stomping towards them.

“In here!” Draco hissed, yanking the back of Romi and Harry’s cloaks towards him, where he huddled into an empty classroom.

They watched in horror as the troll lumbered forward, grunting and sniffling as it went, towards the bathroom.

“How could a stupid and idiotic troll get into the castle?” Romi questioned.

“Someone led it in,” Draco muttered, glaring at the bat in the troll’s hand. “Someone wanted it here, but why-”

Before Harry could point out that someone could be trying to get to the third floor corridor, the troll entered the bathroom door. His eyes widened in horror.

“C’mon! We have to hurry!”

The boys ran into the bathroom, ignoring the girl’s sign. The troll had already smashed a sink, and was swinging into the bathroom stalls. As the bat connected with the wooden stalls, sending splinters of wood flying through the air, they heard shrill screams coming from one of the stalls.

“Hermione!” Draco and Harry exclaimed.

“Astrid!” Ron and Romi yelled.

The troll slowly turned toward the new sounds and voices behind it, and Draco took the opportunity to grab a piece of splintered wood and chucked it at the back of the troll’s head.

“Over here you big ol’ git!” Draco screamed.

Harry copied the blonde boy’s actions and grabbed another piece of wood, chucking it at the troll’s face.

“Hey! Hey over here!”

Ron and Romi joined along, chucking wood and screaming at different angles to confuse the big beast.

Draco glanced down and saw Astrid and Hermione crawl underneath a sink on the troll’s left side. But the troll saw the movement and swung down over the sink right before Astrid. She screamed as the sink crashed right in front of her.

“Guys! Do something!” Hermione screamed.

Draco remembered a few spells from when his father hired a tutor to prepare him for the upcomign school year. He grabbed his wand and pointed it at the troll’s face.

“ _ Petrificus Tot- _ ” But before Draco could properly get out the paralyzing spell, the troll had swung it’s other hand and knocked Draco’s wand out of his hand and shoved Draco into a sink. Draco screamed as his back connected with the basin, a fiery pain spreading across his back and up his spine.

“Harry!” He screamed.

Harry suddenly leaped forward onto the troll’s head. That did something, but not much, since the troll tried to knock him off by shaking it’s head viciously.

“Ron! Romi! Do something!” Harry screamed.

“Swish and flick!” Hermione instructed as Ron yanked his wand out of his back pocket.

“Together!” Romi yelled at Ron, pulling out his wand as well.

“ _ Wingardium LeviOsa _ ” They both chanted together.

To everyone’s surprise, the bat swung violently into the air by both curses from the two boys. The bat flew up, hit the ceiling, and came crashing back down on top of the troll’s head, narrowly avoiding smashing Harry. He jumped off the troll’s head as the troll collapsed forward.

Draco was released from the troll’s foot and the sink and collapsed to the floor in pain. Hermione ran forward, her hands on Draco’s shoulders and tears in her brown eyes.

“Are you okay, Draco?!” She whimpered, lifting his face up to hers.

If Draco hadn’t admitted it when he had read his mother’s words earlier, he was able to admit it to himself then and there that Hermione Granger made his insides flip and flop. 

Suddenly, from the doorway, came Lynn. Her yellow and black tie was askew and the braid she had been wearing earlier had fallen out and her nutmeg brown hair was loose around her face. She looked terrified.

“You guys, I-I saw you run away from the group and so I tried to catch up,” she paused to catch her breath, “but you weren’t the only ones to notice…”

Everyone started thundering questions, but then Professor Mcgonagall appeared in the doorway. She gasped at the sight of the troll on the ground collapsed.

“Wh-Wh-What?!” She exclaimed.

Professor Snape and Quirrell appeared behind her, their faces pale and agape. They gaped at the troll as well.

“What is the meaning of this?!” Mcgonagall questioned, turning to Harry, Ron, and Romi.

“Professor-” Ron began, but Hermione stood up.

“I’m sorry Professor, but it was my fault.”

Everyone gaped at her, including Professor Mcgonagall.

“Miss Granger!”

“I thought I could take on the troll, I had read all about them. I had told my friends, Lynn and Astrid about it, and I tried to force them to come with me.” Hermione paused and smiled at Lynn. “But Lynn knew the right thing to do and found you, Professor, but the others-- Draco, Harry, Astrid, Ron, and Romi-- they tried to come and stop me.”

“That's incredibly ill-minded of you, Miss Granger,” Professor Mcgonagall said, her nose going up in the air. “Twenty five points will be taken from Gryffindor for your disobedience.”

Hermione bowed her head, even as Draco tried to stand up and protest.

“But,” Mcgonagall interjected, glancing at the five other Gryffindors in front of her. “Five points will be given to each of you for your bravery.”

They all sighed with relief as Mcgonagall turned to Lynn.

“Five points to Hufflepuff for doing the right thing, regardless of your friends and your standing with them.” 

Lynn smiled politely at the professors. Quirrell agreed to walk her back to the Hufflepuff dormitories as Mcgonagall called for the Gryffindors to follow her. Draco smiled at Lynn as they parted ways, same with Harry, Hermione, and Astrid. Even Ron turned and politely nodded his head at her.

“H-Hermione, Astrid,” Ron spoke up, “I-I’m sorry for being, er-”

“An ass?” Astrid interjected not so innocently.

Ron chuckled and nodded his head. 

“Yeah, er, I’m sorry for being an ass and a git to you girls. You are all pretty nice, regardless of you two being girls.” Ron said shyly.

“I forgive you, Ron.” Hermione said with a smile.

“I guess I do too…” Astrid mumbled.

“Yes!” Romi cheered. “That was the shortest grudge time! I win!”

“Shut up!” Astrid screamed as they reach the portrait hole.

“Did anyone else see Professor Snape’s torn and bloody leg, or was that just me?” Harry interjected sassily.


End file.
